Your Guide to Learning How to Play Poker

Poker is not a game that can be easily played like slot machines. You must understand the poker actions, hands, and how the betting rounds should progress. Understanding all these principles helps to increase your chance of winning.

There are different types of poker games available at our online casino. So, to taste them, all you need to do is sign up on Mr Bet and begin to enjoy all of these variants. Without further ado, we’ll give you a layout of the rules, descriptions, tips, and strategies of how to play this casino game.

Let’s dig in!

Basic Principles of How to Play Poker

These days, there are YouTube videos, films, books, and so on with effective tips on how to play online poker. Many of these are written, directed, or consulted by professionals. Despite desperate attempts of making every new guide as unique as possible, they all derive from a basic principle explained below:

• Every participating player is dealt at least two cards;
• The game is played clockwise around the table until the round is over;
• The first player is entitled to fold, bet, or call; as they deem fit;
• Other players must check, fold, call, bet, or raise when it is their turn;
• The poker winner is determined after reviewing further rounds.

The end goal of every poker round is divided into two. Either use the cards that you are dealt to make the five-card hand possible, or convince other players that you have the best hand (even if you are nowhere close). In summary, you have to either make it or fake it.

Understanding of Poker Hands

For every deck, you will find a card with these markings: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. Certain combinations of these cards make up the card rankings. Here are the acceptable hands that you can collect at a playing table in order from worst to best:

• High Card – this is the lowest-ranked hand. It summarizes that if none of the players has one pair or a better hand, there is still another chance to get a winner. In this case, the player with the highest card becomes the winner of the current poker round;
• One Pair – this refers to a combination of the five poker cards, of which you have two matched ones. It could be having two kings or queens and three other cards whose value doesn’t play any role;
• Two Pairs – this hand is formed with two different pairs of cards and one side card. A good example is having two queens, two jacks, and an ace;
• Three-of-a-Kind – this poker combination consists of three identical-value cards and two others whose face value and suits do not matter. For example, three 5s or 9s, one king, and a jack;
• Straight – this poker hand consists of five cards with sequential numbers that are not of the same suit. A good example is a two, three, four, five, and six, all represented by cards of different suits;
• Flush – this hand involves five different cards of identical suits. So, if your hand looks like one, two, three, seven, and nine of hearts, then you have a flush since all the face values differ, but the symbols depicted in the corner of every card are the same;
• Full House – this one takes it up the notch and is quite different from the other hands. For this, you need three of a kind and a pair. Therefore, the three cards must have the same value, and the other two should have the same value—for instance, three 5s and two queens;
• Four-of-a-Kind – this poker hand entails four cards with equal values, as the name connotes. That is, four 10s, 2s, aces, and so on combined with one side card. It’s easy to assume that this combination doesn’t depend on card suits since it’s impossible to have four aces or any other card of the same suit in one deck. All that matters is that they have the same face value;
• Straight Flush – this is the second-best hand. To get this winning combination, you need five sequential cards. For example, if your hand consists of three, four, five, six, and seven of spades, you succeed in collecting a straight flush. As you understand, having consecutive numbers is not enough because cards must also share the same suit;
• Royal Flush – this is the best hand you can ever have while playing poker. To make this combination, you need a king, jack, ten, ace, and queen. This is not all. They must also carry the same symbol; that is, they must be all spades, clubs, hearts, or diamonds.

A Highlight of the Basic Poker Rules

Throughout the game, players remain at their chosen positions. The position at which you sit at the table matters a lot when it comes to playing poker. With each hand, the order of play changes and is usually relative to whoever is dealing with the card.

If the order of play begins with you, you are in the early position. You’re in the late position if it comes to you last. If you find yourself between the two, you’re in the middle position. It is important to note that these positions affect your betting strategies and determine whether you win or lose the round.

In this case, you might enter a state known as a “blind bet” before you have even seen your cards. In that, as the first to play, you have less information on how well-learned the other players are. This is a different story for a player in a late position who has more information.

The Proper Way to Place Bets

The core bet at the beginning of the game is referred to as the ante. It is a compulsory bet that is placed before the main dealing. Other ways through which players can place bets while playing poker are as follows:

• Call: When you say this during a game round, it is more or less like challenging the other player. This is because you are beckoning to match the amount they have added to the pot. Here, the competition becomes more intense and thrilling;
• Raise: This is achieved by increasing the opening bet. Typically, you get to raise when your cards are good. However, this is not all. Whether your hand is good or not, you can raise the other players. This is called bluffing; If your opponents bite the bait, good for you;
• Check: When checking, the betting process skips you from placing a bet in the poker pot. The duty extends to the next player, going on and on;
• Fold: This term indicates your interest in leaving the gaming table. Once you fold, it portrays that you are no longer attempting to collect a winning hand in this round.

These are some basic ways to place bets, regardless of the poker variation.

The Procedure of Poker Card Dealing

Poker games usually have a selected dealer. If you play in a land-based hall, a professional croupier will do the job; if you engage in the activity in the company of friends, one of the participants will have this role; and if you launch an online poker game, then a computer algorithm will proceed with dealing as soon as you press a respective bullet. There is no big deal associated with dealing, but the following are additional aspects that you should add to your already extensive knowledge:

• Shuffle the deck well;
• Begin with the player to the left of the button;
• Deal the card one at a time to players around the table until everyone has their starting cards;
• Note that the varieties of poker have their distinct starting numbers or “hole cards” when dealing. For Omaha, it is four, while for Texas Hold ’em their number is twice less.

The more you play, the better acquainted you become with these rules.

Main Poker Variations for NZ Players

If you want to enjoy the thrill of poker online, our platform can provide you with a variety of games to choose from. Not only do they come from collections of various providers, but they also have different mechanics at their heart. Further, we are going to discuss four poker types gamers most often play at our online casino and in NZ brick-and-mortar venues.

Texas Hold ’em

This is the most popular variation of poker. Here, players are dealt two “hole cards” (dealt face down). All participants try to get a winning combination by using their private hole cards, and the shared community ones (up to five are dealt in the middle) open to all players.

The player with the best five-card hand, combining the five shared and two hole cards, or the one left after every other player has folded, is always declared the winner at the end of the game.

Omaha

This poker variation is quite similar to Texas Hold ’em. Its difference lies in the fact that players are dealt four-hole cards and five community ones. You can think that players have nine options to form their hands; however, it is not true. Every participant can use only half of their personal cards and three of the community area.

Before the game begins, blind bets are made by two players sitting to the dealer’s left. This ensures that the pot has money when the game eventually begins. This game ends with a showdown if two or more players are left. The cards are unveiled, and the poker player with the highest hand wins. However, if other players have an equally strong hand, the pot is shared.

Omaha Hi-Lo

This is a fixed-limit game. The pot is divided 50/50 at the end of each hand. Half goes to the hand with the highest-value cards, while the other half goes to the poker player whose hand value happened to be the lowest.

The fun of the game comes from players trying to find different strategies to earn both pots without sharing with the other players.

Three Card Poker 

For this type, players compete against the dealers. The rankings and betting options are different in this variant. You must place an ante bet on whether you can beat the dealer before you see the cards. If you decide to fold after seeing your hand, you lose your ante bet. However, if you decide to play on, you must place a wager equal to your ante.

For the showdown, the dealer, who loses to one of the players and has a card queen high, rewards the winner with an amount of their ante and game bets; however, the dealer with the same card type takes these bets from payers in case the dealer’s hand wins in the round.

How to Play Poker at the Mr Bet Casino NZ

Playing poker online at our casino is a seamless experience. To begin, you need to register to join our casino. Then, proceed to our game lobby, where you will find different variants of this game.

Poker is a fun game and a productive way to spend your time once you know what you’re doing. You can test your skills when you opt for RNG-powered poker variants and make new friends in our immersive and engaging atmosphere if you decide to try our live casino section.

It is not too hard to become an ace. All you need to do is learn the basics, and as they say, the rest is history. In the meantime, have fun practising on our gamified yet interactive, safe, and secure gaming platform. So, enjoy!