Basic Poker | Order of Hands

Games:
Texas Hold'Em | 7 Card Stud | 7 Card Hi/Lo | Omaha | Omaha Hi/Lo | 5 Card Stud

Types of Events:
Single Table Tournament | Multi Table Tournament | Poker Room

Basic Elements of Poker

All poker games on FratHoldem.com use a standard deck of 52 playing cards ranked in the following descending order: A (Ace), K (King), Q (Queen), J (Jack), 10 (ten), 9 (nine), 8 (eight), 7 (seven), 6 (six), 5 (five), 4 (four), 3 (three), 2 (two).

There are four suits: Hearts , Diamonds , Clubs and Spades . There is no ranking order for suits in determining the outcome of a hand.

Some basic poker terms:

• Ante – The amount of chips that is put into the pot before the cards are dealt.
• Bet – The amount of chips that one chooses to wager when it is their turn.
• Call – Betting (and matching) the amount of the current bet on the table.
• Raise – Betting more than the amount of the current bet on the table.
• Check – Passing on the option to bet. This can only be done if nobody has yet bet.
• Fold – Removing yourself from that specific hand. Once you fold, you cannot re-enter the same hand.

Texas Hold 'Em

In Texas Hold'em, there are two face-down cards for each player and five face-up community cards. The player who makes the best five-card poker hand with any combination of their two face-down cards and the five community cards wins the round. In a Texas Hold'em game, a disc or other marker is used to indicate which person is the "dealer" for the round. Before the cards are dealt, the person to the left of the dealer posts a bet called the small blind, a forced bet that is of a predetermined amount. The person to the left of the small blind posts the big blind, another forced bet which is usually double the small blind. The first two cards are dealt to each player face down (these are called the hole cards), and the person to the left of the big blind starts the first round of betting. (Notice that the big blind and small blind do not get to look at their cards before betting, thus the term "blind"). In the first round of betting, each player has three options: call, raise or fold. To call, the player must place a bet that is equal to the last bet placed. (For the first player in the round, this would be equal to the minimum bet.) A player may choose to raise their call bet by an additional amount, which the other players will then have to call. If one's hole cards are not favorable, the player may simply choose to fold and sit out the round.

After all the players have finished the first round of betting, the first three community cards are dealt face-up on the board. This is called the flop. The second and all subsequent betting rounds start with the first player to the dealer's left, and players now has the option to check. By checking, the player indicates interest in the pot without placing a bet. Any player may choose to place a bet, which the other players must then call. Players can still raise, if a bet has been made, or fold, if their hand is not favorable. After the second betting round, the fourth community card is dealt face-up (this is called the turn card). After the third betting round, the fifth and final community card is dealt (this is called the river card). A final round of betting ensues, and afterwards each player turns their hole cards face up. The highest hand that can be made with any combination of a player's hole cards and the five community cards wins the pot. If two or more players have the same hand, the next highest card in the player's hand (the kicker) is used to break a tie. If there is no kicker card (the tied players have used both hole cards, or have the exact same hand), then the pot is split between them. The dealer button is then passed clockwise to the next player and another round of play begins.

7 Card Stud

To start the game, each player receives 2 cards face down and 1 card face up. Another 3 cards are dealt to each player face up followed by a seventh card which is dealt face down. There are no community cards. The best five card poker hand wins.

7 Card Hi/Lo

To start the game, each player receives 2 cards face down and 1 card face up. Another 3 cards are dealt to each player face up followed by a seventh card which is dealt face down. There are no community cards. Any combination of 5 cards from all 7 cards dealt may be used to create both a high hand and/or a low hand (a low hand is defined as the worst hand you can have). An '8' is the highest card that can be used in the low hand. If two or more players have the same high card, then the next lowest high card is used. For example, 8 , 7 , 5 , 3 , 2 would be considered an 8-7 low. The best 5-card poker hand used for either the high and/or low hand wins.

Omaha

To start the game, each player receives 4 cards face down. This is followed by 5 community cards dealt to the table face up. Exactly 2 of a player's 4 dealt cards must be used in combination with exactly 3 of the community cards to make a 5 card poker hand. The best five card poker hand wins.

Omaha Hi/Lo

To start the game, each player receives 4 cards face down (pocket cards). This is followed by 5 community cards dealt to the table face up. Exactly 2 of a player's 4 dealt cards must be used in combination with exactly 3 of the community cards to make a 5 card poker hand. It's possible to win both the high and the low hand with 2 different pocket cards. An '8' is the highest card that can be used in the low hand. If two or more players have the same high card, then the next lowest high card is used. For example, 8 , 7 , 5 , 3 , 2 would be considered an 8-7 low. If there is no qualifying low hand, the entire pot goes to the winning 'high' hand.

5 Card Stud

At the beginning of every game, each player receives 1 card dealt face down. This is followed by 4 cards dealt face up. All five cards make up your final hand. The best 5-card poker hand wins.

Single Table Tournament

Single-Table tournaments can have a maximum of 10 players where all players begin with an equal number of chips. The stakes (antes, blinds) increase over time. Players are knocked out of the tournament as they lose all of their chips to other players. The winner is the player who eventually ends up with all of the chips on the table.

Multi Table Tournament

In a Multi-Table tournament, there can be multiple tables of players with a maximum of 10 players per table. Each player starts with an equal number of chips. The stakes (antes, blinds) increase over time. Players are knocked out of the tournament as players lose all of their chips to their opponents. Remaining players are periodically re-assigned seats on other tables to keep tables full. This will eliminate tables over time until the last surviving players with chips remain at a final table. The eventual winner is the last player at the last table that ends up with all the chips.

Poker Rooms

This is the area of the site where you go to play ‘regular’ poker games. You can sit down and play at the start of any new hand. You can also leave at any time and keep the chips you have won. There are no tournaments in the Poker Rooms – those are all in the ‘Poker Tournaments’ section. The games available in the Poker Rooms are Texas Hold’Em, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Hi/Lo, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo and 5 Card.