In this part, we will
walk you through all the poker basics you need to be
familiar with before diving into online poker with real
money. You will find out more about poker table
positions and the four betting stages in detail.
Seat positions
- Dealer:
It is one of the most crucial seating positions in
an online poker game. This is because the Dealer
Button moves clockwise, starting from the left side
of it.
- Blinds: The
Binds are the two players who start the betting with
a fixed amount. They sit directly to the left of the
Dealer Button. The first person left to the button
is named the Small Blind, while the one left to the
Small Blind is called the Big Blind. They are the
first positions to speak after all cards are dealt.
- Early
position: Early position, or called
shortly EP, refers to the three seats to the right
of the Blinds. Under The Gun (UTG) is considered the
most important EP and is the person to the left of
the Big Blind. In the same way, you can easily
locate UTG+1 and UTG+2. UTG is the one to act first
in the pre-flop betting round. In other words, one
who sits here is the first playing position before
the flop opens.
- Middle
position: This position indicates the
three seats in between at the table. Similar to EP,
there are also MP, MP+1, and MP+2.
- Late
position: The two people sitting near
the button's right are called Late Position or LP
for short. The first one is the Cutoff, which is
right after the button. The Hijack follows the
Cutoff, meaning the seat is to the direct right of
the Cutoff. They are the last to act on each round.
This position is highly advantageous since LP knows
all the other players' actions to enter a suitable
hand.
Betting stages
As said earlier, the two
players on the dealer's immediate left are responsible
for posting mandatory bets, the Small Blind and the Big
Blind, to get the action going. Simultaneously, the rest
of the players on the table stay tuned and wait for
their turns. Any time a hand finishes, the button is
passed clockwise around a poker table to the next
player.
Pre-flop
This term refers to the stage
that occurs after the players get dealt their hole cards
(two cards face down). Pre-flop is followed by a round
of betting where people are asked to choose from one of
three actions: check, bet, or fold.
Since the Small Blind and Big
Blind positions have a monetary stake at the beginning
of a hand, the UTG player is the first to act. There are
three different options for the UTG to decide. They can
call the same amount as the previous player, raise to a
higher amount than the last player, or fold, depending
on their scenario. These methods also apply to the next
player, and once every player at the table is finished
acting, the second round begins with all the chips
moving to the middle.
Flop
A new round of betting takes
place after the first one is over. In the flop, three
community cards are turned face-up on the table. The
goal is to use two hole cards and the three community
cards to create the strongest five-card poker hand.
The Small Blind is in the
first position to speak, for example, check, bet, or
decide not to continue their hands. The next one who has
the right to act is the Big Blind. They can choose to
fold, match the bet put into the pot, or bet more than
the player who raised it. When everyone completes
contributing an amount of money, the third stage comes
in.
The Turn
The Turn or Fourth Street
comes after the second betting round, where four
community cards are placed face up on the table.
Players, as of this time, have two in their hands, and
on the table, there are four available, and they can use
any of them at their convenience to make the best poker
hand that comprises five cards. The action happens in
exactly the same way as the flop.
The River
The River is the final single
community card dealt in an online poker game. Most
importantly, it is the final deciding factor as it can
determine the outcome of a hand.
The Showdown
The Showdown is a phase where
the remaining players expose their whole cards to see
who has won. Royal flush, straight flush, 4-of-a-kind,
and one pair are some poker hands you can have at
Showdown.
