The game starts with the dealer dealing two cards face down to each of the players playing on a table. The value of the cards is unknown to everyone playing. The cards are distributed in a clockwise fashion.

Players can call when it is their turn. They can raise or they can also fold. Calling means posting an amount for the cards, raising means raising the value of the amount posted and folding means not playing that hand anymore. After the final round of betting is over all the chips are piled up in the middle. There is a showdown. The player who started betting first has to show his cards first.

Here are some rules of Texas hold’em poker 101. For starters, two players take part in the game with the big and the small blind remaining on the left of the dealer. The one on the immediate left of the dealer is the small blind and the one far away is the big blind.

The dealer will distribute the card and each of the players will get two cards. The players have to make sure that they hide their cards from each other. The cards are dealt upside down and are known famously as “Hole” or “Pocket”. And then the game begins.

There are other strategies that you will have to follow, to master the game. Let us say, you are playing at a full table then play your strong hands. Try to get rid of the other players by playing aggressively. Do not let your ego get the better of you. Never copy the other players. Play your own cards with your own style. However that does not mean that you will not follow what the other players are doing. Keep track of how confidently your opponents are playing. In case you do not have good cards, do not bet. Just fold your cards.

Omaha High Poker-The difference between Omaha high poker and Texas holdem poker is that the gambler is dealt in 4 hole cards rather than 2. At showdown exactly 2 cards from his hand and 3 cards from the board must be used to make the best poker hand.

Omaha Hi-Lo Split- The difference here is that the pot is split into 2 at showdown. Half of the pot is awarded to the highest poker hand using 2 from a players hand and 3 from the board – the other half goes to the lowest hand. To qualify for the low a player must have 5 different cards 8 or lower – when there is no low possible the entire pot will be awarded to the player with the high hand.

7-Card Stud-In this form of poker each gambler is dealt their own 7 cards, 4 of which are visible to all and 3 ‘face down’. With a total of 5 betting rounds compared to the 4 in Holdem the pots can grow large.

Razz- here each gambler is having his own 7 cards, 4 of which are visible to the entire table. The difference is that Razz players are trying to make the lowest possible poker hand. Since straights and flushes are not included the lowest possible hand is Ace-2-3-4-5, this is known as the wheel. Razz is played almost exclusively in fixed limit betting format – like other stud games the bets double after the 5th card is dealt.
Draw Poker-The most common form of draw poker is 5 card draw, where all the cards are dealt face down and players get one chance to exchange any number of their unwanted cards.