If you literally don’t know the rules of the game, scroll down to the bottom of this box, where they will be explained.

If you already play recreationally and want to improve, it may help to read the poker columns which appear on the writing page of this site. Scroll right down to the bottom of the list (September 2005) where the columns begin, and read upwards: they start with very simple advice, which gets a little more sophisticated or anecdotal as the columns progress. Even if you don’t follow the tips themselves, the best way to improve your poker is to read and think about the game, alongside playing it.

But the most important advice, and the most important skill in poker, is money management. Never play for more than you can afford to lose, or you won’t play properly. This is a game of deduction, maths, psychology, nerve and logic. If you can’t afford the stakes, it becomes a game of fear. That’s not good poker.

PLAYING ONLINE

When I learned to play, there was no internet. There were private games in people’s houses - friendly and social, or sharkish with illegal rakes (house tax). Or there were casino games. In both cases, you could only play during the restricted hours when a game was offered, and only for the stakes that happened to be available. It was an expensive way to learn.

Internet poker offers the regular player a wide choice of games, 24 hours a day, without having to leave home. It also offers the beginner (or anyone low on funds) the chance to play for small sums, or even for free. You can play thousands of hands, gaining a wealth of poker experience, for a very low financial risk. Or none.

If you don’t yet play online poker, I would recommend PokerStars.com, my tournament sponsors. Of course I would say that – but I can promise you that I signed up with them because I think they are the best site, not the other way round. They have a broad game selection, the best large tournaments, clean and simple graphics, faultless security, frequent player bonuses, and an excellent support team if you have any technical problems.

If you scroll down to the bottom of this page (using the cursor for the main page, not this box) you’ll see a banner advert for PokerStars. If you click on that advert, it will take you to the main PokerStars home page. Then click on “free download” or “play poker now” and it will take you through a very simple step-by-step guide to installing PokerStars on your computer. If you’re going to play for money, you type in your credit card details and deposit the amount you choose – though there is a daily limit, to stop you going crazy. If you don’t want to put any cash at risk, deposit nothing and (when you look around the games on the site) select the ‘Play Money’ ones.

Once you’ve downloaded the site and chosen your screen name (a vital part of the operation – pick a bad name and you’re stuck with it…) you can look around the lobby for the games you want to play. Poker divides into CASH GAMES (where you can start and stop whenever you like; click on ‘Holdem’, ‘Omaha’, ‘Stud’ or ‘Other Games’ and scroll down to choose your financial limits) or TOURNAMENTS (in which you sit down whenever the tournament begins, receive a limited amount of chips, and play until you are knocked out or have won the whole thing). The tournaments with multiple players and big prize money are listed under ‘Tourney’, and the start time appears on the left hand side of each tournament. (These start times are for American EST – add five hours if you’re in the UK.) Faster single-table or heads-up tournaments are listed under ‘Sit & Go’, and they begin as soon as the table fills up.

There is a ‘Play Money’ tab under all the options, which takes you to the free versions of those tables.

BASIC POKER RULES

All variants of poker involve making the best possible five-card hand.

In the simplest variant, FIVE CARD DRAW, each player is dealt five cards of his own, and this is his hand. Players can then bet, swap some of their cards, and bet again.

In TEXAS HOLDEM, each player is dealt two individual cards. Five ‘community cards’ are dealt face-up on the table, for all to share. Your hand is the best five cards of all seven you can see. This is the most popular modern variant, and the rules are given in more detail here.

In OMAHA, each player is dealt four, five or six cards and there are five community cards. Each player must use two of his own secret cards and three from the table to make his final hand.

In SEVEN CARD STUD, each player is dealt a total of three cards face down and four face up. He chooses his best five cards from the seven he’s got.

You can add wild cards, high-low splits and all sorts of nonsense. You can play five card draw as “deuce to seven triple draw”. You can play Holdem or Omaha as “double flop” or “triple flop”. You can play seven card stud as “Razz”, making only a low hand instead of a high one – or as “superstud”, starting with five cards instead of three. But you’re always, ultimately, making a five card hand. (Unless you’re playing badugi, but don’t run before you can walk…)

ORDER OF HANDS

Starting with the best:

5 of a kind (if using wild cards)
Straight flush (five running cards in the same suit)
4 of a kind
Full house (three of a kind, plus a pair)
Flush (any five cards in the same suit)
Straight (any five running cards)
Three of a kind
Two pairs
One pair
High card

In a low-ball or high-low game, the lowest possible hand is A2345 or A2346: aces are both the highest and lowest card in the deck. You can make two different five-card hands to try and scoop the high and the low halves of the pot.