How to Play Poker

Join in the excitement and thrill of Poker, the king of card games. 

It is a game that requires great skill at reading other players, developing a betting strategy and understanding the cards.

When it comes to poker; strategy and a bit of psychology are more powerful than lady luck. Learn how to master the basics of poker with this short guide & start practicing your skills to win at Poker.

Objective

The fundamental difference between Poker and other Casino games is that you are playing against other players and not against the House. For a small fee, SKYCITY Adelaide Casino provides the dealer’s, the equipment and the perfect venue for a Poker game.

The object of the game is to win the pot by forming the highest ranked five-card Poker hand or have all the other players surrender the pot to you by folding to your bet.

How to play

Adelaide Casino offers two variations of poker, Texas Hold’em and Omaha.

Texas Hold’em

What makes Texas Hold’em different from Omaha is that each player makes their five card hand out of seven cards: there are five community cards all players can see in the middle of the table, but each player is dealt two cards that only they see.

Firstly, a disc known as the ‘button’ is placed in front of one of the players, who is then viewed as the dealer for the round. Even if you have a professional dealer who physically hands out the cards, they are doing it on behalf of the person with the button. 

The button moves to the next player on the player’s left after every round. 

Aim

The aim of Texas Hold’em is to make the best five-card hand possible from the seven cards in front of you (the two cards you have been dealt and the five community cards on the table). 

The Blinds

Two blind bets are placed before the cards are dealt. The first blind is placed by the player directly to the left of the dealer. The second  blind is placed by the person to the left of the first blind and is greater than or equal to the blind. 

These blinds indicate the minimum stakes of the game you are about to play.

Pre-flop

The cards are then dealt so that each player has two cards, known as your hole cards. These should be kept private and not shared with the other players.

The player to the left of the second blind can then decide to fold (bet nothing and withdraw from the round), call (match the amount of the big blind), or raise the bet by at least the amount of the second blind.

Acting clockwise, each player then has the opportunity to fold, call or raise. However if the previous players have raised the bet, then calling requires the players to match those bets.

This first round of betting, known as the pre-flop betting round, is concluded once all players who have not folded have bet the same amount of money for the round and all players have had a chance to act. 

Flop

Three cards are dealt face up on the table. This is known as the flop. Players evaluate their cards and the flop to decide whether to bet or check.

The first person to start betting is the active player immediately clockwise from the button. If all players decide to check then this is free round as no bet for this round has been made.

The minimum bet on the flop is the amount of the big blind. The completion of the betting round follows the same rules as the pre-flop bet.

Turn

Next, one card known as the turn is dealt face up on the board. Players again assess the card and betting begins again.

The River

The final card, known as the river, is then dealt. Betting proceeds with the same rules as the betting on the turn.

Showdown

If there is more than one player left, they now enter into the showdown where the best hand is declared the winner. In the event that the two best hands are identical ranked, the pot is equally divided.

Betting Limits

No -Limit Texas Hold’em

No-Limit Texas Hold’emallows players to play high stakes games with a big pot and create huge bluffs that require nerve and skill to accomplish.

The minimum amount for the first bet of a round is the size of the second blind. The maximum you can bet is limited only to the amount of chips in your stack.

Once a bet is made, the minimum you can raise is the size of the last bet and again the maximum is the total amount of your chips. 

Omaha

Omaha takes Poker to a whole new level.

Each player receives four hole cards and they must use two of their hole cards to make their best poker hand. Therefore the final hand will use 2 of their hole cards and 3 community cards.

The rest of the rules and the poker hand ranking order is the same as in Texas Hold’em.

Discover the Poker Zone at Adelaide Casino, where you can experience tournaments and cash games in an exciting and premier venue.

For your own private game, Adelaide Casino can provide the dealers and equipment in the perfect setting for you to enjoy.