Learn How to Play Poker Down Under | Betsquare

The origins of poker are shrouded in a rich historical tapestry inspired by several games through the centuries. The roots of poker can be traced back to the 1600s, with a Persian card game known as “As Nas”, incorporating rounds of betting and hand rankings like the ones we see today in all poker formats.

In Europe, the French enjoyed a card game known as “Poque” in the 17th century, which was heavily inspired by the Spanish card game “Primero”, which dealt three cards to every player and encouraged bluffing. In the US, New Orleans and the surrounding area were inundated by French colonials in the 1800s. Many of whom brought over the game of Poque.

Adaptations were made to create the modern-day game of poker we know and love today. By 1834, the game was dealt from a 52-card deck, with five cards dealt to each player – the version we know today as “Five-Card Draw”.

The rebranded game of poker soon meandered its way along the Mississippi River and further inland, eventually becoming a staple game in the saloons of Wild West towns in the late 19th century. Poker was gifted back to Europe from America in 1871 when Queen Victoria was given the rules of the game by the U.S. Minister to Great Britain, and the rest is history.

No doubt, poker enjoys widespread popularity in Australia, capturing the hearts and minds of casual players and seasoned professionals. At the heart of the Australian poker scene are the country’s most prestigious tournaments, including the world-renowned Aussie Millions, attracting a truly global player base.

The allure of poker down under extends way beyond live poker rooms, too, with an abundance of online poker rooms welcoming experienced Australian players and Aussies learning how to play poker for the first time.

In short, Australia has a vibrant poker community, thanks mainly to its televised events and robust online presence. Both reflect the game’s enduring charm and cultural significance across the Australian gaming landscape.

Most poker formats follow the same rankings for hand values, with a Royal Flush considered the pinnacle in the poker hand rankings and a high card being the weakest. Below, we’ll explain each hand in more detail so you know what you’re looking for:

Many say poker is easy to play but much more challenging to master. Below, we’ll explain the basic rules of poker and what’s included in a basic hand to put you in the picture.

It all starts with the dealer button. This moves clockwise around the table after each hand. To the immediate left of the dealer button is the small blind, and to the left of the small blind is the big blind. The small blind pays half of the minimum bet into the pot automatically. The big blind automatically pays one minimum bet into the pot, and then the cards are dealt.

In some games, like the latter stages of multi-table tournaments, all players will be asked to contribute a small amount to the pot before the cards are dealt. This contribution is known as an ante. Antes encourage players to play progressively or risk seeing their chip stack ebb away over time.

Once every player is dealt hole cards, there are four betting actions players can take pre-flop:

• Bet – place a bet equivalent to or greater than the big blind.
• Raise – raise a bet from an opponent acting earlier than you in the hand.
• Fold – surrender your hand and muck your cards to the dealer.
• Check – only the big blind can check pre-flop as they’ve already committed chips to the pot (but if a player acting before has raised, the big blind player must call it, raise again or fold.)

The flop is laid out in poker formats where community cards are dealt. This is the first three community cards you can use to make the best possible five-card hands.

After the flop, the same betting actions will be offered. If all remaining players check, they can effectively see the next card – the turn card – for free.

If a player bets or raises an opponent and all remaining players fold, the betting player wins the contents of the pot.

If the game advances to the fifth and final card – the river card – and at least two players are still committed, the hand goes to a showdown, with both players having to show their best five-card hands to the dealer. The dealer then announces the winner, and the chips in the middle of the table are moved to them.

In some poker formats, you won’t have community cards to work with. Seven-Card Stud is a prime example of a poker game where each player is dealt seven cards – four face down and three face up.

In fact, no community cards are offered in all forms of draw poker games – including Five-Card Draw. Whether you prefer playing with community cards or working with your own cards, it’s personal preference. Playing with community cards requires you to think more about the potential hand ranges of your opponents. That’s because you can see the types of hands the community cards can help to make.

In poker, where you sit at the table can be a game-changer. If you’re one of the last to act in a hand, you’ll get way more information on the strength of your opponents’ hands than you’d have got being one of the first to act.

Imagine being on the dealer button – you get the lowdown on everyone’s actions before you even play your cards. If you’re in an early spot, it’s a bit trickier. You’ve got less info to work with, so you’ve got to be picky about which hands to play. 

Mastering table position is essential as it gives you the confidence to pull off clever moves like snagging blinds to boost your chip stack. The ability to master table position also allows you to control the game’s tempo on your own terms.

When you pair your awareness of table position with an appreciation of the right starting hands to use in early, middle and late position, you’ll be a genuine force to be reckoned with at the poker tables. Premium starting hands include top pairs of aces, kings and queens. Even Ace-King has a swagger about it. Premium starting hands give you a shot at taking down pots quickly and with a minimum of fuss.

Being picky about your starting hands doesn’t mean you’re a poker diva; it’s smart poker. Premium hands give you the edge, increase your odds of success and put you in the driving seat. You’ll not often be dealt these premium hands, though, so it’s important to know what else to play. 

In early position, stick with premium starting hands only due to your limited info on opponents. In middle position, you may consider incorporating lower pairs into your starting hand range, especially if you can see the flop cheaply. In middle-to-late position, consider adding more drawing hands into your range, as you can play these when opponents in earlier positions show weakness, allowing you to try and flop a monster hand like a Flush or Straight.

We’ve already touched upon the main betting actions at the poker table, but now we’ll discuss in more detail when the time is right for each action:

Checking in poker means you don’t want to contribute any further chips to the pot to see the next community card. Essentially, it’s an admission that you’re keen to keep the size of the pot as small as possible. Checking when you have a marginal or drawing hand is usually best. However, a more advanced approach may be to use a check to disguise a very strong hand, also known in the trade as slow-playing.

Betting in poker means adding further chips to the pot. It means you need to be confident about the strength of your hand. In basic terms, whenever you bet into your opponents, you need to be happy that your hand has showdown value. If all hands went to showdown at that moment, would your hand have a strong chance of winning? Or are you still drawing and hoping to land the one card you need on the turn or river? If it’s the latter, you’re better off checking and keeping the pot small until you have a made hand.

Raising an opponent’s existing bet is a power play in poker. It’s designed to tell them – and others at the table – that you believe you’ve got the best hand. Raising thins out the field. It scares off weaker players who’ll try and see more flops with marginal and drawing hands. It also means anyone keen to stick around in the hand needs to add more chips to the pot – a win-win scenario if you’re confident about winning at showdown or, better still, if you already have “the nuts”!

Knowing when to fold your hands at the poker table is not a sign of weakness. When learning to play poker, you must embrace making calculated decisions and playing the long game. Defence is often the best form of attack. Preserving your chip stack for a better hand to bet or raise opponents is always the best policy.

Poker is a game of incomplete information, so you must do everything possible to gain an advantage. This includes learning to read your opponents for physical tells and their betting patterns.

Mastering player reads is a poker superpower. First off, you should check the vibe of your opponents. Do they look nervous or unnecessarily fidgety? Do they have a smug smile saying, “I’ve got a killer hand”? A player’s eyes are the windows to their poker soul. It’s one of the main reasons why so many poker players wear sunglasses at live poker tables.

Listen carefully to what your opponents say, too. If they try to appear uber-confident and even vocalise that they’ve got “the nuts”, this is often a move designed to intimidate you into a fold. In many cases, players who try to appear strong are weak.

Pay attention to their betting patterns, too. A sudden shift from cautious to all-in may spell trouble for you. Alternatively, it may spell panic from them, overbetting the pot and bluffing to try and induce folds. You can’t be a mind reader, but you can be a poker detective. Look for any patterns, anomalies or tells to improve your poker edge.

Speaking of bluffing, it’s important to add this skillset into your own poker arsenal, too. To be a successful bluffer, you must confidently sell your story. Mix it up; don’t bluff every hand, as your opponents soon see through you and call your bluffs. Pick your moments; be bold if your opponents are tight or weak. A well-timed bluff is like poker magic – just the right amount of smoke and mirrors!

If you’re still reading, the chances are you’re keen to avoid some of the rookie errors newbie poker players make at the tables. Below, we’ll highlight some of the pitfalls to avoid as a poker novice down under:

1. One of the biggest flaws in rookie poker players is their passive betting style. They are too scared of losing to bet aggressively with their premium hole cards. If you’re too passive, your opponents will notice and take charge of hands, putting you firmly on the back foot.
2. Getting creative with weaker opponents at your table is a no-no. This includes bluffing. Never bluff the ‘donks’ at your table. They rarely consider the strength of their opponents’ hands. If they’re betting strong, there’s a good chance they’ve got a made hand.
3. Poker beginners will also tend to feel like a kid in a candy shop. They’ll crave action at the tables and inadvertently play too many starting hands. Sticking to premium starting hands will give you the best possible chance of success.
4. Beginner poker players rarely value bet, if at all. Some rookies will reach the river card and watch their opponents check to them, only to timidly check too, leading to a showdown. In this scenario, it’d be better to value bet into an opponent’s river check, giving them a decision to make, not you!
5. Poker beginners also play at stakes too large for their bankroll. Knowing the right games for your bankroll is important to help ride out the inevitable upswings and downswings at the poker tables. We’ll cover bankroll management in more detail in the next section.

No poker player can stay the course without sound bankroll management. It’s the bedrock of becoming a successful player long term. Think of bankroll management like your own financial compass, guiding you through the game’s volatility. 

In all forms of poker, there will be upswings and downswings. It’s part and parcel of a game influenced heavily by probabilities. However, by sticking to a strict plan for managing your poker bankroll, you can ensure you have some skin in the game for as long as possible.

Think of your poker bankroll as your lifeline. It’s the capital you’ve set aside solely to enjoy this game. If you’re hellbent on taking poker seriously, here are some simple tips to shape your view of bankroll management in poker:

• If you’re a cash game player, it’s always best to sit down and play at stakes where you can afford up to 100 buy-ins. If you have $200, you’ll be best served by playing the NL2 ($0.01/$0.02) micro-stakes tables, which have maximum buy-ins of $2 at a time.
• Multi-table tournaments are even more challenging to win regularly than cash games due to the bigger entry fields to navigate. With that in mind, many of the best tournament poker players give themselves anything from 100 to 200 buy-ins at the entry fees they wish to play. This preserves your bankroll as you’ll inevitably go five, ten or even 20 tournaments without cashing before a big win.
• Rule number one – always separate your poker bankroll from your living expenses. Poker should never interfere with your everyday finances. It should be fun and enjoyed responsibly.
• Set yourself a stop-loss from a single poker session. For example, if you lose 5% of your total bankroll in a session, you’ll automatically stop playing for the day and return and play again. This makes it easier to clear your head of the losses and return with a fresh perspective, avoiding the potential for tilt.

Alright, let’s break down the poker showdown: online versus live, Aussie style. Online poker? It’s just like having a 24/7 live poker room in your pocket or office. Online poker rooms are accessible day and night with a reliable mobile or internet connection. 

Online poker gaming also allows you to juggle more poker games than a circus act. Seasoned online poker players will multi-table to improve their hourly win rates. Of course, when you’re learning how to play online poker in Australia for the first time, it’s best to play one table at a time until you’re ready.

Online poker is also well-suited to speed demons. If you’re strapped for time, online poker will be your jam. There’s no waiting around for human dealers to shuffle up and deal. The automated software handles all of this for you.

At the other end of the spectrum is the face-to-face drama of live poker that online poker simply can’t compete with. You must be Sherlock Holmes at live poker tables, watching for reads and tells. By its very nature, live poker also offers a much more sociable poker experience.

When it comes to game variety, online poker sites are veritable poker buffets, with a huge choice of game and tournament formats, whereas live poker rooms offer more of a set menu. In terms of game fairness and integrity, online poker games are powered by independently tested and verified random number generators (RNGs) and algorithms. At the same time, live environments have the “poker police” – CCTV and floor staff keeping the peace. That’s poker, Aussie style, for you – choose your battleground!