Basic Strategies

• If you have a poor hand, fold and wait for the next round.
• It's not recommended to play many things. You will give away the fact that you're a beginner and opponents will figure out what are your hands. Considering you have a bad hand, folding at the beginning is the best thing to do.
• The best chance you have to win a game is to find one where players are worse than you. Improve your skills by practicing in games that have low stakes.
• Before you join a game, be sure you are familiar with the rules and the game's variations.
• Observe your opponents, their gestures and their facial expressions and try to avoid showing your emotions to them.
• Don't focus on your hands and closely watch the board.
• Bluffing is one of the most effective tools in poker but that if you know how to use it.
• Don't play if you are in a bad mood because it will greatly affect your performance and chance of winning.
• Your every move is watched by your opponents so keep a poker face with little emotion showing.
• Play as often as possible to gain experience and expand your knowledge by research.

Common Beginner Mistakes

• Wait until the player before you acts. Otherwise, you could gain an unfair advantage over the player that hasn't acted yet.
• Make sure you always know what the bet is and when your turn is. After a turn in a limit game the bets are double the amount they were before and after a flop.
• Most of the times, players fold if they don't like a turn. If you're the first in line, you can check not fold. In case everyone does that, you get to see the next card for free. The free card can be the card you miss to have the winning hand.
• Put the chips in front of you so that the dealer sees the bet is correct.
• Put your hands or chips on your deck of cards to keep them safe. If another player mix their cards with yours, your hand will be declared dead.
• If someone has called out a better hand, be sure to keep your cards and not fold right away. The dealer is the only one that will declare the final winner.
• Keep yourself together and don't let your emotions be seen. Foul language and behavior will not be tolerated.

Winning Poker Hands

When playing poker, a frustrating thing to do is to figure out which hand outranks which. Here are the most powerful cards in a Texas Hold 'Em, starting with the most important.

• Royal Flush:

Five card sequence from 10 to the Ace in the same suit (10,J,Q,K,A).

• Straight Flush:

Five card sequence of the same color. (eg. 8,9,10,J,Q and A, 2,3,4,5 of same suit). All the cards are of the same suit, and all are consecutive. Ranking between straights is determined by the value of the high end of the straight.

• Four of a Kind:

All four cards of the same index (eg. J,J,J,J).

• Full House:

Three cards of a kind with a pair (eg. A,A,A,5,5).

• Flush:

Any five cards of the same suit, but not consecutive. Don't be tricked into thinking that all five cards are the same color. The highest card is the one that will decide the winner if two or more people have a flush.

• Straight:

Five cards in sequence, but not in the same suit. A straight cannot wrap, meaning it is not a straight if you have a Queen, King, Ace, Two, Three. The higher straight wins if two or more people have a straight. In case of straights that tie, the pot is split.

• Three of a Kind:

Three cards of the same value. The highest set of three cards wins.

• Two Pair:

Two separate pairs (eg. 4,4,Q,Q). The highest value of the pair is used to determine the winner.

• Pair:

One pair of two equal value cards constitutes a pair.

• High Card:

If no one has any of the above winning hands, the tie is determined by the highest value card in the hand. If the highest cards are a tie then the tie is broken by the second highest card. Suits are not used to break ties.