Poker is a game played in many different ways. Currently the most popular form is Texas Hold’em. Of course, Texas Hold’em isn’t the only version available to play, the other very popular games are 7 Card Stud, Omaha, and 5 card draw.

But as Texas Hold’em is the most popular and the game from which all other hold’em games are derived we’ll have a look at it in more detail. Hold’em Poker is a form of community poker with blind bets instead of betting antes. Hold’em games have designated betting limits, which include minimum and maximum bets, pot limit betting and no limit games.

The difference is this: In a $1/$2 limit game, all bets and raises are $1 dollar in the pre-flop and flop betting rounds, and then $2 bets and raises in the turn and river betting rounds. Pot Limit is a betting structure where the maximum size bet is the size of the pot plus the amount you would bet if you re-raised (if you have already been raised). No Limit is a betting structure with no maximum bet. Players may bet as many chips at any time, at any time they can declare themselves “All In” and bet all of their chips on a hand.

Games online are played at either Single or Multi table tournaments. Single Table means that it’s just you and the other players at the table in the running for the pot. Multi Table Tournaments (MTT) can register hundreds of players who continue to play on multiple tables until only nine players remain and meet at the final table.

Tournaments as described above operate differently to cash games. Once at the table in a tournament you will be given a limited number of chips, as will your opponents. The basic premise of the game is to be the last man standing to take the pot. The pot value will depend on how much the buy-in was (how much each player paid to join the game).

Cash games are just that – played with your own cash not chips. You can play up to the value of the funds in your online poker account and you can play as much or as little as you like. Unlike tournaments, you can win a hand and leave the table with your extra earnings. Of course you have to be very careful playing real cash games, depending on the table you’re at, one bad hand could cost you a lot of dosh!

In order to play successfully, you will need to learn the basic rules, hand rankings and strategies of the game which are all available on this site. You can also play for fun and practice your skills until you’re confident enough to hit the tables for real.