Get Started playing Poker

Poker and casino games have a long history. Online versions like Betfair are the most popular sites nowadays. To get started playing Poker we recommended playing Fixed Limit Hold ‘Em at whatever limit you can afford. In most online Poker Rooms, you can find these types of tables by looking for the game type. You can find out more about the different types of limits, and Poker limit variations here.

We would also recommend a ten seater table because as a beginner you should not be playing that many hands so the more players at the table the less it will cost you. Once you have selected a suitable stake we would recommend that you take some time to watch the betting on the table. This will give you an understanding of how the blinds work, the typical betting practices and maybe also identify who bets a lot and who does not. This knowledge may help you later as if some players do not seem to play many hands then they are probably a very tight player.

After studying the table, you will notice everyone is dealt two cards- these are known as the hole cards. These are the two cards you get to see for free as other than the compulsory small and big blinds stakes, no one is required to place any more money in the pot.

In the above image(of a Full Tilt poker Fixed Limit table), you can see the options available are:

Fold- meaning seeing these cards and folding them has not cost a penny.

Call- equal the Big Blind's stake in this case costing $0.50.

Raise- double the Big Blind, costing $1.

So if you are not happy with them you can simply fold. For beginners, we would recommend you only played one of the starting hands in one of the Starting hands tables which may be found here. These tables will help you get a solid understanding of what hands to play and which to fold, you think of it them as the ABC’s of Poker but they have been designed by some of the greatest pros in the game so they are not to be sniffed at!

Next, the blinds and the dealer button...CLICK HERE