Springbok Poker - South Africa Online Poker

Texas Hold'em is a community card game, meaning that some cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table and shared by all players. Each player is dealt two pocket or hole cards which they consider with the five community cards to make the best possible five-card hand.

The person who is dealt last is regarded as the dealer and as such is marked with a dealer button. At the end of the hand the button is passed clockwise to the next player.

Most hands of poker begin by some form of forced betting. This is to ensure that there is action with every hand. Hold'em is played with two blinds (a bet before the pocket cards are received). The two players to the left of the dealer start with placing blind bets. The small blind is posted by the first player and the big blind by the second. The big blind is always the minimum bet at the table and the small blind is half. During a betting round, each player in turn takes one of the following actions:

Bet	Put money in the pot
Call	To match/equal another player's bet
Fold	Forfeit cards and your chance of winning the pot
Check	Passing on making an action(if no bet is in play)
Raise	To increase another player's bet
Re-Raise	To increase another player's raise

When the blind bets are placed, the dealer gives out two cards to each player. The dealer deals clockwise. The two cards are called "hole cards" or "pocket cards".

After this the players choose if they would like to make a bet. The person after the big blind starts. In the first round you cannot "Check", but you can do any of the following: Bet, Call, Raise or Fold. All players shall put the same amount in for the game in order to continue. So if one player raises, the other players must either call or re-raise, or fold (drop out of the round).

Dealer turns three cards on the table - the Flop. These three cards are community cards and can be used in combination with the two hidden cards each player has in his/her hand.

The remaining players now start the second round of bidding. The first player to the left of the dealer starts the bidding round. The following actions can now be taken: Check, Bet/Raise, Call or Fold.

All players must put the same amount into the pot, or fold before the round has ended.

The same rules apply for both the bidding and the raising in each round from now on.

The dealer now displays the fourth community card on the table, so all players have six cards to play with. A round of betting now takes place.

The fifth and last community card on the table is displayed. A round of betting now takes place.

In all, five of the seven cards can be used. This means that each player can form the best possible five-card hand from their two hole cards and the five community cards on the table. You don't even have to use any of your own cards if you don't want to. You can "play the board" if the best hand is shown there. The remaining players now show their cards, and the winner is found. If a player shows his/her cards and you are not able to beat these cards, you choose yourself if you want to show your cards or not.

royal flush The highest poker hand. It consists of AKQJT all in the same suit. As all suits are equal, all royal flushes are equal.

straight flush Five cards of the same suit in sequence, such as 76543 of hearts. The ace can play low to make 5432A, the lowest straight flush.

four of a kind Four cards of the same rank accompanied by a "kicker", like 44442. Ranked by the quads, so that 44442 beats 3333K.

full house Three cards of one rank accompanied by two of another, such as 777JJ. Ranked by the trips, so that 44422 beats 333AA.

flush Five cards of the same suit, such as AJ942 of hearts. Ranked by the top card, and then by the next card, so that AJ942 beats AJ876.

straight Five cards in sequence, such as 76543. The ace plays either high or low, making AKQJT and 5432A.

three of a kind Three cards of the same rank and two kickers of different ranks, such as KKK84. Ranked by the trips, so that KKK84 beats QQQAK, but QQQAK beats QQQA7.

two pair Two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank and a kicker of a third rank, such as KK449. Ranked by the top pair, then the bottom pair and finally the kicker, so that KK449 beats any of QQJJA, KK22Q, and KK445.

one pair Two cards of one rank accompanied by three kickers of different ranks, such as AAK53. Ranked by the pair, followed by each kicker in turn, so that AAK53 beats AAK52.

high card Any hand that does not qualify as one of the better hands above, such as KJ542 of mixed suits. Ranked by the top card, then the second card and so on, as for flushes.

Suits are not used to break ties, nor are cards beyond the fifth; only the best five cards in each hand are used in the comparison. In the case of a tie, the pot is split equally among the winning hands.

nh - Nice hand
vnh - Very nice hand
gg - Good going
lol - Laugh out loud
ty - Thank you
wp - Well played

Flush (all cards in the same suit):
If you hold a four to a flush, the chance of making the flush, either on the turn or the river, is 35.0%.

Open-ended Straight (e.g. 5678 where you need a 4 or a 9):
The chance of making a straight, either on the turn or the river, is 31.5%.

Inside Straight (e.g. 4578 where you need a 6):
The chance of making an inside straight, either on the turn or the river, is 16.5%.

Trips (three of a kind):
The chance of making trips with a flopped pair, either on the turn or the river, is 8.4%.

Your two pocket cards, or hole cards, are the only factors that separate your hand from the other players' hands. So learning how to play them is vital. An AA (ace-ace) combo simply has a much greater chance of winning than say a 7-3 combo. Play the good starting hands. Fold the bad. Combinations can however change between good and bad (and back) according to your position in the game. See "Position Play" below.

Top 20 Best Starting Hands

1. AA	11. ATs
2. KK	12. KJs
3. QQ	13. AQ
4. JJ	14. 99
5. AKs	15. QJs
6. TT	16. KTs
7. AQs	17. 88
8. AJs	18. QTs
9. AK	19. A9s
10. KQs	20. AJ

The "s" means suited, both cards in the same suit, always better than unsuited.

In a poker game being seated in "late position" is a huge advantage. In this position you get to see your opponents make their moves before you make yours. To become a good player one must learn to take full advantage of playing in late position.

No matter the betting round, if you have nothing and can't draw to anything, fold faster than Superman on laundry day, if you don't feel like bluffing of course!