Poker rules and strategies

Updated: 03.01.2025

Poker is a popular card game, the roots of which are said to date back to the time of Persian sailors, who taught the original version of the game to the French of the time.

Today’s popular Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Seven-card stud and other poker variations dominate both land-based and online casinos.

Typically, the goal of a poker game is to form a combination of cards in the player’s hand and the cards on the board that will give a better result than the other players.

Victory only comes when the owner of the best card combination does not allow himself to be bluffed out before the end of the game.

Oasis/Caribbean Stud poker is different in that the game is played not against other players, but against the casino.

There is also video poker, where there is no dealer at all and the poker game unfolds in a slot machine format.

Where to play poker in Australia?

Most popular Australian online gambling sites primarily offer casino games, some also offer sports betting.

Online poker is more the domain of traditional online casinos , which aim to provide their customers with all the games in one place.

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Among Australian casinos, OlyBet , Optibet, Betsafe, Unibet and Coolbet are worth mentioning . Of these, OlyBet poker uses the world’s fastest growing Asia-centric GGNetwork network.

PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room, has over 150,000 players playing cards at the top table. Their software is free to download and is also available for Australian players.

Unibet Poker

Unibet poker software is unique in Australia. It was developed by the Australian company Relax Gaming and is ideal for a beginner player who is just getting acquainted with poker.

The Unibet poker client can be downloaded to both Mac and PC users. There is also an option to play the game in a web browser.

Unibet’s poker software is set up so that pros cannot use poker hand and game analysis programs, which means everyone has an equal chance of winning.

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OlyBet poker

We already talked a little about OlyBet Poker. After the world’s largest poker network Microgaming folded, operators had to start looking for alternatives.

Aside from PokerStars, GGNetwork is undoubtedly one of the best alternatives. It is the largest and fastest growing gaming environment in Asia.

When you play poker at OlyBet, you get up to 100% cashback and over $30 million in guaranteed tournaments every week. It is the largest poker room in the Baltics, which also offers a new customer welcome bonus.

At OlyBet, if you want to play poker, you have to download the software to your device.

Poker tournaments in land-based casinos

If you’re interested in poker tournaments at land-based casinos, Olympic Casino has it all. Their website features information about tournaments, cash games, rankings, clubs, and news.

History of Poker

The history of poker is extremely interesting, but accurate information has been difficult to find. It is believed that the name of the game comes from the French word “poque”, which translates to “to knock”.

There is also clear evidence that a game similar to poker was played by Mississippi riverboatmen and immigrants during the gold rush in the 19th century.

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The poker boom in Australia began in the late nineties, when people were initially crazy about video poker. Soon, players got tired of playing against the computer and headed to physical gaming halls.

Nowadays, many online tournaments are held on popular Australian online gaming portals, with hundreds of participants.

Brief introduction and poker rules

Poker is most typically played in poker rooms and even in homes. Before the turn of the century, poker was also offered online in 1998.

Over time, efforts have been made to make online poker rooms as easy to “digest” as possible for beginners. Tournaments are also organized specifically for new players.

Almost all poker games are played with a deck of 52 cards. To increase the randomness, live poker uses multiple decks of cards so that players cannot count the cards, i.e. keep track of which cards have already been drawn from the deck.

Different formats

When you find a suitable poker room online, you will notice that you can choose between different types of tables. The most popular are the cash tables, where you can find the right bet levels for you.

Serious players, as well as amateurs, love to test themselves in tournaments, where you have to be very careful not to get knocked out immediately and lose your buy-in.

How to start?

What makes poker special is its rather complex maze of rules, which ensures that both skill and luck are needed to achieve victory.

It’s common for beginners to outsmart experienced poker pros. However, it’s difficult to outsmart hardcore poker aces over longer gaming sessions.

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In addition to knowing the rules and the luck factor, the emotional side also plays a fairly important role in poker. This is especially true in live poker, when you’re sitting shoulder to shoulder with your opponents and chatting can sometimes cause all sorts of distracting thoughts.

When playing online, you can follow a fairly precise gaming strategy, which over longer periods should ensure that you come out on top financially.

Texas Hold’em

Let’s start by looking at what Texas Hold’em has to offer, which is by far the most popular type of poker.

Blinds

The game begins with the players sitting to the left of the dealer placing blinds in the pot. This ensures that there is something to bet on and players cannot simply wait for the best possible hand.

The value of the blind is usually the value of the minimum bet for the big blind and half or ⅓ of the minimum bet for the small blind . At the end of each round of play, the blinds pass to the next player.

Distribution or deal in English

The most important part of the poker game is the dealing of cards so that each player receives two cards. These cards are called hole cards.

The aim of the game is to form the best possible combination from your pocket cards and the cards on the board, while at the same time not letting yourself be bluffed out of the game. Sometimes it can happen that the best combination is formed from only five cards on the board.

Betting rounds

After the cards are dealt, it is the players’ turn to decide whether they want to pass (forgo betting in this round), bet, fold, pay an amount equal to the highest bet made, or raise the bets.

There are four betting rounds:

1. Pre -flop , which means that there are no community cards on the board yet, but the pocket cards have been dealt.
2. On the flop , when the first three community cards are already on the board
3. On the turn , when the fourth community card is also on the board
4. River bets, when all 5 community cards have been dealt

All-in

What happens when you get good cards but are low on chips? This is not an uncommon situation, and in this case you can play and bet without your opponents being able to force you to fold just because they bet a larger amount.

If a player does not have enough chips to place a bet, they can still participate in the round by putting all their chips into the pot. You can then potentially win the portion of the pot that was there until your last bet.

What are the winning poker combinations or poker hands?

If you want to play poker, the most important thing is to know which combination beats which combination. Below we will rank them from strongest to weakest.

 

The player with the highest combination on the board wins the given hand. Of course, it is possible for the players’ hands to be tied, in which case the strongest combination is on the board (among the five cards dealt). In this case, the amount on the board is divided equally between the players still in the game.

As previously described, the dealer deals each player two cards (Texas hold’em) and at the end of the round, five cards are dealt to the table. These five cards can be used by all players to achieve the best hand.

From strongest to weakest:

  1. Royal Flush – A player who has a straight from 10 to A in one suit.
  2. Straight – A player who has any straight in one suit.
  3. Four of a kind – The player has four cards of the same type
  4. House – The player has three of a kind and one more pair
  5. Suit – The player has random cards of the same suit
  6. Straight – The player has a straight of any suit
  7. Three of a kind – The player has three cards of the same type
  8. Two Pair – The player has two pair.
  9. One Pair – The player has one pair.
  10. High Card – The player has the highest card on the board.

Poker strategy

The expression used about poker is that it is a mathematical game with incomplete information, which is also true.

Theoretically, you can more or less calculate which cards are still left in the deck, but this information never gives you enough certainty to start betting big.

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Becoming a good player takes a lot of time and dedication. Even if you’re just playing for fun, you’d rather win than lose.

In order to understand the behavior and decisions of other players, the following concepts are used in poker:

  • aggressive game
  • passive game
  • casual game
  • profiting from the mistakes of others

Understanding the different approaches is useful for adapting your game to the strategy of the other players at the table.

How to win at poker?

The most important thing in poker is to know which pocket cards are worth playing with. Also pay attention to your position at the table to understand how it can affect the decisions of other players and yourself.

Eventually, when you’re a little more skilled, you’ll be able to calculate which bets are reasonable compared to the amount you already have in the bank.

Emotional game

In addition to knowledge and good calculation skills, being able to keep your emotions in check is a useful trait in poker.

It happens to everyone that sometimes the cards just don’t “run” the way you want them to, or you tend to lose even with good cards. In such cases, it’s wiser to take a break from playing or stop playing altogether. At least for that day.

Good players always win in the end

Note that whether you are a good or bad player cannot be determined by a single session. Sometimes losses are inevitable. If the goal is to stay in the black, what matters is whether you can play smart in the long run.

If you are ready to learn, you will eventually be able to calculate your theoretical chance of winning in any situation, learn the betting patterns of other players, and know how to bluff if necessary.

To top it all off, it is also possible to use your position relative to other players to your advantage.

Summary

When it comes to the most popular gambling games in the world , poker is undoubtedly one of them. However, relying on luck alone is not enough to be successful.

You can test your knowledge and nerves at the poker table, because that’s the only way you can make a financial profit in the long run.

If you decide that poker could be a suitable way to make money, it is worth considering that you will have to play a lot of tables and sometimes there may be longer periods without winning. It is a rather stressful profession that seriously tests your nerves.