Are you passionate about cakes and have just decided to try new things? Have you ever been a fan of cards?

For whatever reason you may have, welcome. Besides of being a fun game which involves thinking and following a strategy, it's a game where you can make a lot of money if you know how to play your cards.

We suggest that you play both with your friends at home and online. In poker, as in most subjects, you learn by practicing.

Here are some basics with which you'll be able to play your first games!

Poker by definition

Before getting into the subject, it is important that you know the basic terms and types of plays that exist in poker.

Poker is a card game in which players, with all or part of their cards hidden, make bets based on an initial bid. At the end of the game, the player or players with the best combination of cards win the total sum of the bets placed.

At times, it may not be the best hand that wins the pot, but this will only happen if betting has forced all other players to fold.

As you know, there are different types of poker: Omaha, Razz, Stud, H.O.R.S.E, among others. However, in this article, we will focus on Texas Hold'em, as it is the most popular around.

Poker hands

From higher to lower value, these are the combinations of cards or hands that you can do in poker:

Royal Flush
Straight Flush
Four of a kind (Poker)
Full House
Flush
Straight
Three of a kind
Double Pair
Pair
High card

The goal of Texas Hold'em is to form the best combination of cards possible.

The game follows the clockwise direction. Once the bets are placed, two cover cards are dealt to each player at the table and then 5 cards are revealed:

The first three cards are the flop.
The fourth card forms is the turn.
The fifth card is the river. (Damn River)

Structure of bets

Through 4 betting rounds, each player must form the best combination of 5 cards possible. For this combination, players can use both their covert cards and the five community cards.

The four betting rounds are:

Preflop: Each player bets knowing only the value of his two cover cards, and none of the community cards.
Flop: Bets are placed after the first three community cards have been shown.
Turn: The bets are made after showing the fourth community card.
River: The last community card is the last betting round.

In the pre-flop first player to speak will be the one to the left of the big blind, however, on the flop and the next, the first player to place his bets will be the one to the left of the dealer.

The time to bet

In each betting round, there is a big blind and a small blind. The Big Blind is worth twice as much as the small Blind, and if the other players at the table want to participate in the round, they will have at least to match the bet of the big blind.

Blinds exist to motivate players to play. If there are chips on the table, someone will want to win them. Otherwise, players would only participate when they had the best hands, and the game would have much less excitement.

When it comes to betting, the options are:

Match the be
Raise the bet
Fold
All in (bet all the chips you have left)

So, on what basis do we decide whether to bet or not? Poker is a gambling game, so whether it's money or chips, you have to try not to waste them and try to make the most of them.

If you are in a game, you can't decide whether to bet simply because you feel like Nostradamus or just because you don't like a person in particular, at least not at all. Before doing all in, we recommend that you find a good reason to do so if you do not want to regret it later.

What goal do you pursue with your bets?

Tricking the rest of the table by making them think you have other plans.
Giving value to your bets.
Getting information about the other players.
Protecting your hand against the rest.

If you think that you will not meet any of these expectations, it will be best for you to check. Nothing happens if you don't play a round or a game, there will be more. Better not playing than playing knowing that you are going to lose.

Additional Pot

In a normal situation, the player with the best hand wins the pot, but it may change if one or more players at the table are all in.

If bets continue after a player has all in, a side pot will be created in which this player will not be present. If more than one player makes all in, different pots can be accumulated which will be independent of each other.

If you want to learn more about this amazing game, and have a great time with fellow Steemians: you can Join our Official Steem Poker League Discord Channel here. https://discord.gg/2bWSvzG

Join Us! To get the chance to win SBD playing in our poker league or in our daily free tournaments. Starting TONIGHT at 7:30 PM CDT / 8:30 EST / 12:30 AM GMT/CDT we will hold an 18 SBD Freeroll every night.