Betting: Placing bets is such an integral part of the game that it cannot be separated. If you want to know how to play the game it is important that you know how and when to place your bet. The amount of each bet varies with the game and also varies throughout each hand.
At the beginning of each hand players must “ante” to buy into the pot. The amount of the ante will also vary from game to game but does not generally change with each hand, as it is set at the beginning, usually by the dealer or by consensus of the players. When the hand is complete, the player with the highest hand wins. Betting is generally conducted in a clockwise order and, when you place your bet you can do one of three things.
First, you can call. This means that you are matching what has been bet since your last turn. Very simply put, if you bet a dollar on your last bet and some has bet five dollars since then you will have to cover the difference to stay in the hand.
Next, you can raise the pot. You have to match what has been bet since the last hand and then raise the bet. Some table have a limit as to how much you can raise, others do not.
The last choice you have is to fold. This means that you are dropping out of the hand because you do not believe that you have a good enough hand to defeat the other players. If you fold you do not have to put any money in the pot, but you do forfeit you ante and any money bet during the hand prior to your folding.
Poker Terminology: The following are some of the more common terms used in Poker.
Betting Round: This is the order of the betting and it depends on whether the player’s hands are up or down. If the hands are up betting will begin with the highest card shown. If the players cards are all down and no cards are showing the play will start with the player immediately to the left of the dealer and move to the left with each hand. The round is the total bets until either all players have folded or someone has won the pot.
Declaring is letting each player know whether you are attempting a low or high hand.
Down or Up says whether the value of the card is visible to the other players. A down card is also known as a “hole” card.
Exchange is usually used in draw poker and allows you to discard a certain number, usually up to three, from your hand and exchange them.
High/Low means that the highest and lowest hands will split the pot.
Natural is a hand without wild cards.
Rotating Bet simply means that the rotation of play will go to the player to clockwise of the dealer.
Tap out or all in is when a player bets all of their remaining money. This stops betting if there are only this player and one more. If more than two players are still in, separate pots are created to hold the bets for players who are not tapped out.
