The game usually unfolds in a clockwise direction starting with the dealer. Whether you’re playing physical poker at home, at a bricks-and-mortar casino, or an online casino the role of the dealer determines the order in which the blinds are put up and players make their bets. Many forms of the game feature a small blind and a big blind, with the latter generally twice the size of the former. Most forms of poker require some form of compulsory bet at the beginning of a hand usually referred to as the ‘ante’ or ‘blind’.

It’s possible to win poker hands without holding the best hand by bluffing your opponents.īluffing usually involves projecting confidence in your hand by betting in a manner that suggests your hand is better than it is, in the hope that your opponents will believe you and fold rather than risk taking you on in the showdown. Learn the order of strength of poker hands on our poker-hand rankings page. Some poker game types will use the common hand ranking in different ways, such as making the lowest value hand the most desirable (low-ball poker). How to play poker: concepts common to most types of poker Poker-hand rankingsĪll games of poker are based around common poker-hand rankings which are used to decide which player’s hand wins in a game of poker.

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