Although you’ll usually stay at the same seat at the table, the position you’re in when it comes to poker’s order of play changes with every hand, relative to who’s dealing the cards.
When there’s a non-playing poker dealer, a Button is used to indicate your position for each hand, with play proceeding left-to-right around the table.
- If the ‘action’ – or order of play – starts with you, then you’re in Early Position.
- If it comes to you last, then you’re in what is known as Late Position.
- If you’re somewhere in between the two, you’re in Middle Position.
Poker positions affect betting strategy for various reasons. You might be entering a stake (known as a ‘blind’ bet) before you’ve even seen your cards.
If you’re the first to act, you have less information as to how ‘strong’ your opponents are, and might get raised or re-raised. If you’re the last to act, you have more information – and might even be able to ‘steal’ those blind bets with a cheeky raise, if everyone else has folded.
As you learn poker skills, you’ll understand that position can be a big factor in determining how often a certain hand or player will win.
Be sure to bookmark our guide on to find out exactly where you stand (or sit, in this case!).
Texas Hold’em in 8 Simple Steps – How Each Hand Unfolds
- The dealer shuffles the deck, then distributes cards to all of the seated players.
- Once the cards have been dealt, it’s time for the pre-flop. Here you can fold, call, raise or even re-raise, depending on what you’ve got.
- The flop is when the first three community cards are shown. It’s the first time you can think about building your full hand, so if you don’t have much to start from at this point it might be the best time to fold.
- The turn comes with the ‘turn’ of the 4th community card. As before, you can check, call, fold or raise. Now your position and early signs of the direction of the hand are made clear, you can think about how your full hand might look.
- The river is the reveal of the fifth and final community card. Now you know what you’re (Texas) holding, you can make a far more confident bet based on the situation – or just bluff!
- Post-river marks the end of the hand. Now, it’s time to use your hole cards in conjunction with some of the community cards to build your best hand.
- If you’re still in for the showdown, it’s time to call out your remaining opponents – or be called out yourself to reveal your hand.
- The best hand wins the pot – usually! Bluffing can be your best friend – or your worst enemy – when it’s time to lay down your cards.
Some games such as Omaha follow a very similar poker order to Hold’em.
New to Poker? Start with the Basics
If you’re completely new to this exciting game, we’re here to help. Check out our advice and learn some poker basics, before moving onto more advanced guides.
What Is Poker? A Game of Skill, Luck, and Bluffing
Poker is a catch-all name for a classic group of card games where you usually aim to make the best five-card hand – and bet that the value of the cards you hold is stronger than your opponents. Alternatively, you can try to bluff your way to victory!
Although playing poker and winning can involve a slice of luck, there’s also great skill in being able to outfox other players through strategy and how/when you bet.
How a Poker Hand Works: From Betting to Showdown
- The aim is usually to have the strongest five-card hand, or convince others that you have it.
- When the ‘action’ is on you in each round, you can make a bet, call or raise any existing bets, or choose to fold (sliding your cards away face-down, and taking no further part in that hand).
- When it’s your turn to bet, you can fold at any time.
- If more than one player stays in until the final betting round is over, there is a ‘showdown’ – where these players reveal their cards. The winner is the player with the strongest hand.
- If everyone else folds their cards when you bet or raise the stakes, even if you haven’t reached the ‘showdown’, you win that hand. This is where the thrill of ‘bluffing’ comes in, as a clever player can act as though they have better cards than they actually do.
Read our more in-depth guide to the rules of poker – including the rankings of poker hands.
Understanding Poker Betting – Actions, Rounds, and Strategy
Betting in poker is all about having the confidence that you’ll build a winning hand, already have one, or haven’t – but are willing to try a bluff!
Poker betting works in rounds, allowing you to assess your hand against the possible cards your opponents hold, or are building.
When it’s your turn to bet, you can usually do one of the following things:
- Check – until the first bet is made that round, you have the option to ‘check’. This means you pass up the chance to bet until the action is back on you.
- Open – this is the first bet made during the round, and each subsequent action is made in response to the opening bet.
- Fold – you can choose to fold your hand, if staying in seems too steep, though you’ll lose anything you’ve already put into the pot.
- Call – you can choose to match the highest bet made at the table so far.
- Raise – you can increase the previous high bet. A ‘check-raise’ is when the same player checks and then raises in a round. Raising a raise, meanwhile, is known as a ‘re-raise’.
Players usually announce what they’re doing out loud, although there are non-verbal ways to confirm what you’re doing.
Tapping the table can mean that you ‘check’, while giving up your cards to the dealer face-down without saying anything essentially means you fold.
When you’re betting you should place or slide your chips forward in front of you for the other players and dealer to confirm the amount. The dealer will then add them to the pot.
Poker Betting Etiquette and Rules You Should Know
When it comes to how you bet in poker, understanding that some things are frowned upon can sometimes be helpful.
‘Seeing and raising’ is an act you see in many movies and TV shows, where someone announces they will call the previous bet, and then announces they will also raise. This is not allowed at most tables, because bets should generally be announced in one go or placed in one movement.
Making more than one move, or ‘string-betting’ when it comes to putting chips in the middle, is frowned upon – because it gives you two chances to determine opponents’ reactions and their next course of action.
The amounts you can bet are also determined by whether the game is fixed limit, no-limit or pot-limit. This can affect the way you bet strategically in games.
You also need to be clear on whether or not your raise includes the original bet. Are you raising by an amount or raising to an amount?
Find out more about poker betting - and bluffing - with our comprehensive guide.
Poker Etiquette: Unwritten Rules for a Fair Game
While some table rules aren’t set in stone, there’s a certain code of poker etiquette which helps games run smoothly and allows everyone – no matter their experience level – to enjoy the action.
- Don’t play out of turn. Declaring that you’re going to bet or fold before it’s your turn can have an unfair influence over how others will play before the action gets to you. It’s best to avoid this.
- Be clear on your betting. Try not to confuse fellow players with how many chips you’re betting, or hide how you’re doing by obscuring your chip stack.
- Avoid interfering. If you’re out of the round, it’s best not to tell players what you’d do in their situation, for example. Watching and learning is usually the way to go.
These are just a few examples - find out more about the unwritten rules of poker etiquette.
How to deal in poker
Poker games at casinos usually have a designated dealer. But if you’re dipping your toes into the world of poker on a casual basis with friends, you might be expected to take your turn dealing cards and managing the chips in the middle (known as ‘the pot’).
There’s no particular secret to being a good poker dealer, but here are a few quick tips to get you started:
- Shuffle the cards really well between each hand.
- When dealing the Flop, Turn and River, it is usually good practice to ‘burn’ the top card by putting it face down on the table, and out of play. It’s a good idea to check with the other players beforehand if they prefer to do this.
- Starting with the player to the left of the Button, deal a card at a time to players around the table, until everyone has their starting cards.
- Different poker types have different numbers of starting, or ‘hole’ cards, to deal. In Texas Hold’em, it’s two. In Omaha, it’s four.
- Take the bets and manage the chips in the pot. It’s usually the dealer’s responsibility to ensure bets are being placed properly, but ask for help if you’re new – and a more experienced player can usually show you how.
- The dealer usually announces which hand is highest at the end, or names the player left in after all other players have folded, then pushes the pot of chips to the winner. Again, just ask your fellow players for help if you’re new to this, and watch others to see how they do it before having a go yourself.
Get more information about how to deal in poker with our in-depth guide. If you’re thinking about taking your skills to the professional stage, we even have one on how you can make those dreams a reality.
Want more poker tips for beginners?
Now you’re a little more familiar with the basic poker rules, it’s time to build on your knowledge. At 888poker we have tons of guides on getting to know the game, inside and out. From cool strategies to learning all the right lingo, we can help you develop your game – and have even more fun while doing it.
Types of Poker
There are many different types of poker game, each with their own unique characteristics and rules that add to the enjoyment each time. Here’s an introduction to the most popular types, and what to look out for when you’re playing.
Before you can learn how to play Texas Hold’em like the pros, you should know the basics.
- Players are dealt two ‘hole cards’
- Up to five ‘Community cards’ are dealt into the middle
- Players make their strongest five-card hand using both their private hole cards and the shared community cards (which anyone can use)
- Players get four ‘hole cards’
- There are five community cards in the middle
- Your hand is made of two hole cards, plus three community cards.
- Having more hole cards means more powerhouse hands are possible, and things like ‘aces high’ are much less likely to win a pot.
Check out our guide to Omaha Hi and enjoy this fun spin on the poker experience.
- This typically fixed-limit game is also known as Omaha 8 or better
- The pot is split 50/50 at the end of each hand
