TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER

Order of play

Position order affects play so it rotates clockwise after each hand

1. The first two players to receive cards are called blinds. To guarantee that there is a pot, the small blind (first to receive cards) must bet half the minimum and the big blind must bet the minimum -- before cards are dealt.

2. Pocket cards dealt; first round of betting

3. Dealer turns over the "Flop," which is the first three community cards, which are shown simultaneously after the first round of betting.

4. "Turn" (the fourth of five community cards); round of betting

5. "River," the final community card, turned over; final round of betting

6. Best remaining hand wins the pot

Strategic moves

Winning poker depends on the skill of playing the others at the table as much as the luck of the cards.

Basic strategy

When you have the best hand, get your opponent to increase the pot

When you have the worst hand, put as little money into the pot as possible, unless you are bluffing

Know your cards

Be aware of how your hand compares to the best possible hand

Know the worst hands (7-2 off-suit is the worst possible starting hand)

Be willing to fold if the flop goes against your starting hand

Read your opponents

Try to assess your opponents' cards

If they know they're being watched, they will try to act the opposite

Get a sense of their style of play, learning their patterns and quirks

Bluffing

Bet in a way that will scare your opponents out of the hand

Make them believe you have great cards

Surprise them by only bluffing occasionally

Keep yourself unpredictable

Ranking the hands

Each player's five-card hand is the best combination of the two pocket cards and five community cards.

1. Royal flush

2. Straight flush

3. Four of a kind

4. Full house

5. Flush

6. Straight

7. Three of a kind

8. Two pair

9. One pair

Poker glossary

Action -- Any fold, check, call, bet or raise.

All in -- When a player wagers all his chips in a no-limit game, or runs out of chips during a hand in a limit game.

Bet -- Placing a wager into the pot during any betting round.

Button -- The player who is the designated dealer. The button moves after each hand, and that player has a strong position.

Call -- Matching a bet.

Check -- Passing on action until a bet has been made by another player.

Check raise -- Making a raise after initially checking on the action.

Community cards -- The five cards dealt face up in the middle of the table that can be used by all players to make their best hand in Texas Holdem or Omaha.

Drawing dead -- Making a hand that can't win because someone holds a better hand.

Kicker -- The highest unpaired card, which can help determine who wins the hand.

Muck -- To discard a hand.

Nuts -- The best possible hand.

Option -- The choice, given to the big blind, to raise a bet.

Outs -- The cards remaining in the deck that will improve a hand.

Overcard -- A hole card that is higher than any on the board. An overpair is two hole cards higher than any card on the board.

Raise -- To increase the amount of the current bet.

SOURCES: Bravo, Planet Poker, The Associated Press