How to Play Poker
Developed during the early 19th Century, Poker has grown to be one of the most popular card games in the world, as well as one of the most played online casino UK games. With this beginner guide on how to play Poker, you will learn the basics of this exceptional card game. From knowing your cards to knowing your hands, as well as how much power your hand will have on the dealer, big wins can be found by utlising this knowledge.
Know Your Cards
Before you do anything you’ve got to understand what online casino Poker is all about and what it entails, and for Poker this is a lot of cards. A standard Poker deck contains 52 cards divided into two colours and four ‘suits’ which are:
Hearts (Red)
Diamonds (Red)
Clubs (Black)
Spades (Black)
Know Your Hand
You know your cards, now you’ve got to know your hand. Your hand is the set of up to five cards that you are dealt by the dealer at the table. Your hand will be made up of a random selection from the original 52-card deck. With each hand you get, this will equate to a ranking which will determine whether you win the pot or not. So, let’s take a look at the Poker Power Rankings.
Power Rankings
Royal Flush
The Royal Flush is the best hand that you can achieve in Poker and is incredibly rare, which is why it pays 500x your stake when playing Ultimate Texas Hold’Em at Bet UK. In order to achieve a Royal Flush, your hand must consist of the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 all in the same suit and correct sequence as shown.
Straight Flush
The Straight Flush is the next best hand after the Royal Flush, and can pay as much as 50x your stake on online casino games like Ultimate Texas Hold’Em, or 20x your stake on Casino Hold’Em. A Straight Flush will be awarded when the cards are in consecutive order and in the same suit i.e 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 with no particular sequence needed. If the dealer in Live Poker happens to also have a Straight Flush, the hand with the highest Flush will be awarded the pot.
Four Of A Kind
Also known as ‘Quads’, a Four Of A Kind win consists of four cards of the same value in one hand with all four suits in play, i.e 10 of Clubs, 10 of Diamonds, 10 of Hearts, and 10 of Spades. If both you and the dealer have Four Of A Kind, the hand that has the highest side card will win.
Full House
A Full House is a hand that contains a ‘Three Of A Kind’ win as well as a pair. For example, if you have a hand that has three Aces and a pair of 7s, this will be awarded as a Full House. As long as the dealer does not have either of the above hands then you will be awarded the pot.
Flush
Similar to the Straight Flush, a standard Flush will be awarded when your hand consists of all the same suited cards. However, unlike the Straight Flush this hand will not be made up of consecutive numbers. If both you and the dealer have a Flush, the one with the highest card will be awarded the pot.
Straight
A Straight hand consists of a basic sequence such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 made up of any variety of suits. If the dealer has the same hand as you then the hand with the highest Straight will win the pot.
Three Of A Kind
Also known as ‘Trips’, a Three Of A Kind hand occurs when three of the same value cards (such as 5, 5, 5) are in your set of cards. If the dealer also has Three Of A Kind then the hand with the highest Trips wins the pot.
Two Pair
Two Pair is when you have two different sets of matching cards. If you have two different cards in your hand (for example K + 8) and there is a K + 8 in the five cards on the table, then you will have Two Pair. However, if you already have a pair in your hand and there is also a pair on the table then you will also have a Two Pair hand.
Pair
Any two cards of the same value in your hand, i.e 10 and 10. If the dealer also has a Pair then the hand with the highest value Pair will win the pot.
High Card
If none of the above combinations are achieved via the cards dealt, then the winning pot will be given to whoever has the highest valued card in their hand.
It is important that you try to memorise these rankings as a general rule of thumb for playing Poker, so as to avoid any misconceptions (as explained below) while you’re playing. However, a big advantage that comes with Bet UK’s Live Poker is that you will be told by the dealer what hand you currently have in order to advise your next decision.
Common Misconceptions About Poker
So now we have all of the possible hand combinations cleared, there’s some common misconceptions that need to be addressed to make sure you don’t throw away any winnings.
Misconception #1: “A Straight beats a Flush”
It is important to remember that in Poker, a suit beats a sequence.
Misconception #2: “Three Of A Kind is worse than Two Pair because less cards are involved”
While there are four cards involved with Two Pair hands, Three Of A Kind hands still hold more power as there is more weight in one group, which leads us onto the next misconception.
Misconception #3: “Full House beats Four Of A Kind”
Again, this is wrong. There’s quite a lot of people that are confused by this rule due to the name of the hands. A ‘Full House’ in bingo means that you have swept the board and won the biggest prize, so this leads some players to think that a Full House in Poker means the same thing or thereabouts. It’s because of this that some beginners at Poker don’t understand how a Four Of A Kind can beat a Full House, and as mentioned before, it’s all about the card weight. As there is Three Of A Kind as well as another pair in a Full House, due to a Four Of A Kind having more weight in a group, this hand will always win, regardless of what card values are involved.
Poker at Bet UK
Below is a list of all of the Poker variants that you can find at Bet UK, with a mixture of live casino instalments and games that you can play at your leisure:
Live Caribbean Stud
The five card variant of Poker found in Live Caribbean Stud may have unclear origins, but its conclusion is at the best live casino of Bet UK.
Live Three Card Poker
Live Three Card Poker generally offers a faster pace than other variants, and due to its nature of pitting you against the dealer rather than other players.
Live Ultimate Texas Hold’em
Texas’ Hold’em is one of the most well known Poker games in the world, and we have a truly outstanding live version that offers sleek, stylish, and immersive surroundings, while pitting players directly against the dealer, rather than one another.
Play Live Ultimate Texas Hold’em
Three Card Poker
This game works in exactly the same way as the live version mentioned above, except that Three Card Poker isn’t set in real-world surroundings, and gets straight to the point in terms of its design.
Bet UK’s Final Thoughts
Hopefully now you’re a little more clued up as to how to play Poker, and if you choose to there are a wide variety of games to test your new found skills within our online casino. You may also wish to learn more about other live casino games, such as Blackjack.