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Poker for beginners - Betting

by Duncan Spiers

Ever wondered what all that "I'll see your 10 and raise you 20" stuff was about? The language and rules of betting are explained in the second part of our introduction to poker

While a hand in poker is made up of five cards, you don't often get dealt five cards to start with. The exact process depends on what type of poker you're playing, but generally you get a few cards and then have to bet if you want more. Essentially, everyone who wants to see the next bunch of cards has to pay the same amount. You go round the table, starting with the person on the dealer's left, and everyone has the chance to say how much they bet. If nobody bets anything, everyone gets the next card(s) for free. However, once one player puts some money down, the remaining players must either drop out, or bet at least the same amount. If no-one matches the initial bet, the player who made that bet wins the hand without having to show their cards.

For example: player A is the dealer, so player B is the first to bet. Player B says they 'check', which means they bet nothing. Player C bets £5. Player D now has the choice of either 'folding' - paying nothing and dropping out of this hand - or betting at least £5 if she wants to continue. She pays the £5, which is known as 'seeing' or 'calling' the initial bet ("I'll see your £5"). Player A doesn't like the cards she's got so far and decides to fold. Player B now has to decide whether to pay the £5. She does, and so players B, C and D will continue the game, while player A is out.

In this example, once player C bet, the other players chose to either match that £5 or drop out. However, there's nothing to stop another player 'raising' - betting more than the £5. If they had, the betting would have continued, so that player C had the opportunity to 'see' the larger amount. It sounds complicated, but it isn't really. Essentially, you can't go wrong if you keep in mind to just carry on clockwise around the table until each player has either dropped out, or bet the same amount as everyone else.

All games have a minimum bet, be it 20p or £5,000. Sometimes there will also be a limit on the maximum amount a player can bet at one time. A typical system for friendly games is that no-one is allowed to bet more than is already on the table at any given time. This is called 'pot limit'.

Before any cards are dealt, someone needs to put some money down to get the ball rolling. The simplest option for beginners is to have either all players, or just the dealer, 'ante up' by putting the minimum bid down before the cards are dealt. The ante doesn't count as part of the first round of betting, so the player to the dealer's left is free to check once the cards have been dealt.

Taking all of this into account, we will look at another example. A, B, C and D are playing with pot limit and dealer ante. Player A is the dealer, so she puts, say, £5 into the pot before the cards are dealt.

First round

Player B checks.
Player C checks.
Player D bets £5.
Player A bets £5.
Player B folds.
Player C bets £5.
There is £20 in the pot (including the £5 ante), and players A, C and D remain.

Second round

Since player B has folded, player C is the first to bet.
Player C checks.
Player D bets £5.
Player A bets £15 ("I'll see your £5 and raise you £10").
Player C folds.
Player D has to either bet another £10 or fold. She bets the £10.
At the end of the second round, there is £50 in the pot, and only players A and D remain.

Third round

Player D checks.
Player A bets £20.
Player D has to either fold, or bet at least £20. She bets £70, which is the maximum she is allowed (since there is £50 in the pot, plus the £20 bet by player A). This is known as a 'check-raise', since player D checked at the start of this round. (This is perfectly legal, although it is frowned upon in some circles).
Player A now has to choose between folding or paying another £50 to stay in the game. She folds, and player D gets the £140 on the table without having to show her cards.