Online poker features to check

Before joining an online poker table, check the game format, number of seats and betting structure. These details tell you what rules to learn and which decisions you will face.

Poker formats

Community-card games, such as Texas Hold’em and Omaha, use shared cards in the middle of the table. Draw games let players exchange cards. Stud games deal a mixture of face-up and face-down cards as betting progresses.

Cards and hand rankings

Most familiar poker games use a standard 52-card deck. Learn the rankings for the game you choose; some variants use low-hand rules instead.

For standard high-hand poker, the order from strongest to weakest is royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair and high card.

Table size

Full-ring tables commonly have nine or ten seats. Six-max tables allow up to six players, and heads-up games have two. The number of occupied seats can be lower than the table’s maximum.

Betting structures

Fixed-limit games specify the bet and raise amounts. No-limit games let a player commit their remaining stack, subject to the minimum bet and raise rules. Pot-limit games restrict the maximum bet or raise according to the size of the pot.

Check the stakes and buy-in before taking a seat. The game’s name alone does not tell you how much it costs to play.

Betting actions

• Check: pass without betting when there is no bet to call.
• Bet: place the first wager in the round.
• Call: match the current bet.
• Raise: increase the current bet.
• Fold: give up your hand and your chance to win the pot.

Going all-in

Going all-in means committing your remaining chips. If other players continue betting beyond that amount, a side pot can be created. An all-in player is not eligible to win a side pot they did not contribute to.

Use a free practice game to learn these actions before deciding whether to join a money game.