In this part, we will walk you through all the poker basics you need to be familiar with before diving into online poker with real money. You will find out more about poker table positions and the four betting stages in detail.
Seat positions
- Dealer: It is one of the most crucial seating positions in an online poker game. This is because the Dealer Button moves clockwise, starting from the left side of it.
- Blinds: The Binds are the two players who start the betting with a fixed amount. They sit directly to the left of the Dealer Button. The first person left to the button is named the Small Blind, while the one left to the Small Blind is called the Big Blind. They are the first positions to speak after all cards are dealt.
- Early position: Early position, or called shortly EP, refers to the three seats to the right of the Blinds. Under The Gun (UTG) is considered the most important EP and is the person to the left of the Big Blind. In the same way, you can easily locate UTG+1 and UTG+2. UTG is the one to act first in the pre-flop betting round. In other words, one who sits here is the first playing position before the flop opens.
- Middle position: This position indicates the three seats in between at the table. Similar to EP, there are also MP, MP+1, and MP+2.
- Late position: The two people sitting near the button's right are called Late Position or LP for short. The first one is the Cutoff, which is right after the button. The Hijack follows the Cutoff, meaning the seat is to the direct right of the Cutoff. They are the last to act on each round. This position is highly advantageous since LP knows all the other players' actions to enter a suitable hand.
Betting stages
As said earlier, the two players on the dealer's immediate left are responsible for posting mandatory bets, the Small Blind and the Big Blind, to get the action going. Simultaneously, the rest of the players on the table stay tuned and wait for their turns. Any time a hand finishes, the button is passed clockwise around a poker table to the next player.
Pre-flop
This term refers to the stage that occurs after the players get dealt their hole cards (two cards face down). Pre-flop is followed by a round of betting where people are asked to choose from one of three actions: check, bet, or fold.
Since the Small Blind and Big Blind positions have a monetary stake at the beginning of a hand, the UTG player is the first to act. There are three different options for the UTG to decide. They can call the same amount as the previous player, raise to a higher amount than the last player, or fold, depending on their scenario. These methods also apply to the next player, and once every player at the table is finished acting, the second round begins with all the chips moving to the middle.
Flop
A new round of betting takes place after the first one is over. In the flop, three community cards are turned face-up on the table. The goal is to use two hole cards and the three community cards to create the strongest five-card poker hand.
The Small Blind is in the first position to speak, for example, check, bet, or decide not to continue their hands. The next one who has the right to act is the Big Blind. They can choose to fold, match the bet put into the pot, or bet more than the player who raised it. When everyone completes contributing an amount of money, the third stage comes in.
The Turn
The Turn or Fourth Street comes after the second betting round, where four community cards are placed face up on the table. Players, as of this time, have two in their hands, and on the table, there are four available, and they can use any of them at their convenience to make the best poker hand that comprises five cards. The action happens in exactly the same way as the flop.
The River
The River is the final single community card dealt in an online poker game. Most importantly, it is the final deciding factor as it can determine the outcome of a hand.
The Showdown
The Showdown is a phase where the remaining players expose their whole cards to see who has won. Royal flush, straight flush, 4-of-a-kind, and one pair are some poker hands you can have at Showdown.
