Introduction to Poker:

There are four distinct types of poker formats which are most common at our APT events. Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, and Draw games. We also offer OFC (Open Faced Chinese Poker).

Dealer Button:
Most poker games use a ‘Dealer Button’ to indicate which seat the dealer is to be considered dealing from for the current game. If you find that the button is in front of you, don’t worry! We have professional dealers at every table to take care of the dealing duties for you.

The Blinds/Antes:
Most poker games have a forced bet, such as the Small and Big Blinds in Hold’em, Omaha, and Draw Game variants as well as Antes, which are common in nearly all variants of tournament poker. These forced bets are the first incentive for players to win the hand. Action arising from the subsequent rounds of betting further increases the size of the pot.

In games with blinds, the game begins with the player immediately clockwise from the button posting the "Small Blind", the first forced bet. The player immediately clockwise from the small blind posts the "Big Blind", which is usually twice the size of the small blind and is considered a “live” bet (blinds can vary depending on the stakes and betting structure being played).

Depending on the exact structure of the game, a player (typically the Big Blind) may also be required to post an ‘Ante’, another type of forced bet. (In Stud, the Ante is posted by all players)

Hole Cards:
A player’s private cards, dealt face down, and unseen by opponents.

Board/Community Cards:
Cards dealt face up in the “Board” (the center of the table) which can be used by any player, also known as “Community Cards.”

Betting Rounds
Different variants of poker have different betting rounds. Texas Hold’em and Omaha are the two most popular poker games in the world and have identical betting structures, with four rounds of betting known as pre-flop, the flop, the turn and the river. Let’s take a look at each of those:

Preflop:
The Preflop betting round begins as soon as all players have received their hole cards. After the initial cards are dealt, players are called upon to act in turn, with the action moving clockwise around the table after each player acts. Each player must make one of the following actions when it is their turn to act in the betting round:
• Check – To decline the opportunity to be the first to bet that round. Players can only check when there has not yet been a bet during the current round. The act of checking passes the action clockwise to the next person in the hand. If all active players check, those players remain in the hand and that betting round is considered complete.
• Bet – Players may bet if no other players have bet during the current round. Once a bet has been made, other players must ‘call’, by matching the amount bet, or raise, in order to remain in the hand.
• Call – Players can call if other players have bet during the current round; this requires the calling player to match the highest bet made.
• Raise – Players may raise if another player has bet during the current round. This requires the raising player to match the highest bet made and then make a greater one. All subsequent players who wish to continue playing the hand are required to call the raise or raise again (‘re-raise’) to stay in.
• Fold – If another player has bet, remaining players may forfeit their cards, in turn, if they do not wish to call and continue playing the current hand.

As players act, the action continues clockwise around the table. Betting continues each betting round until all active players (who have not folded) have placed equal bets into the pot.

The Flop:
After all the action is complete preflop, three cards are dealt face-up on the board. This is known as ‘The Flop’. The three cards on the flop are community cards, available to all players still in the hand. Betting on the flop begins with the first active player immediately clockwise from the button. The betting options are similar to pre-flop, however if nobody has previously bet, players may check, passing the action to the next active player clockwise.

The Turn:
When the betting action is completed for the flop round, 'The Turn' is dealt face-up on the board. The turn is the fourth community card, often called “Fourth Street”. This opens another round of betting for the players beginning with the first active player immediately clockwise from the button.

The River:
When betting action is completed for the turn, 'The River’ or ‘Fifth Street’ (the final community card in most button games) is dealt face-up on the board and the final round of betting begins, and the same betting rules apply as before. (Note: The betting structure varies with different variations of the game. Explanations of the various structures can be found below.)

Showdown:
A showdown occurs when the remaining players in the hand show their cards and the player(s) with the best ranking hand(s) win the pot.
• All players are encouraged to show their hands at showdown. Here at the APT, if no player wishes to show their hand, the player who made the last bet or raise in the final round of betting will be obligated to show their cards first or fold.
If no player bet on the last betting round, the player closest to the button (clockwise) will be obligated to show first or fold.
• If no player wishes to show and every player except for one folds their cards, the last player with active cards does not have to show and they will be awarded the pot.
• Multiple players can share a single pot, with the pot divided in different ways depending on the game rules and how each player’s hand ranks against their opponents.

Betting Limits
Betting limits refer to the amount players may open the betting round and raise. Most poker variants consist of one of the following types of betting: fixed limit, no limit, pot limit.

• Fixed Limit – Betting in limit games is done according to the tournament structure. During pre-flop and on the flop, all bets and raises are done in increments of the Big Blind. On the turn and river, the size of all bet increments double. At APT events, up to five bets are allowed per player during each betting round – this includes one bet and four raises. The final raise allowed is known as a “Cap”.

• No Limit – In a no limit betting structure, each player can bet or raise by any amount ranging from the minimum amount allowed up to all of their chips. The minimum bet in no limit games is the same as the size of the big blind, but players can always bet as much as they want, up to all of their chips.
Minimum raise: In No Limit, the raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet or raise in the same round. As an example, if the blinds are 100/200 and the first player to raise makes it 500, then the next player who wants to raise must raise to at least 800 (because the initial raiser raised by an increment of 300, the second raiser must raise by a minimum of 300).

• Pot Limit – The pot limit betting structure involves math calculations that even championship-level players don’t quite understand. But don’t let that intimidate you from playing because our professional dealers are there to do all the calculating for you!
In pot limit games, the minimum bet is the same as the size of the big blind, but players may always bet up to the size of the pot.
Minimum raise: As with the No Limit structure (see above), a player’s raise amount must be at least as much as the previous bet/raise in the same round.
Maximum raise: The size of the pot, which is defined as the total of the active pot plus all bets on the table plus the amount the active player must first call before raising.

How do we calculate the pot? Here are a couple examples:
Pre flop example: Blinds are 100/200.
Player A [calls] the 200 big blind which makes the total pot amount 500 (300 from the blinds + 200 call.) They would then add the size of the new pot (500) so Player A's total bet would be 700 (200 call + 500 raise).
Player B (next raiser) wants to raise the pot. Player B [calls] Player A’s 700 raise, which makes the total pot amount 1,700 (300 from blinds + 700 bet + 700 call.) They would then add the size of the new pot (1700) to the 700 [call], so Player B’s total bet would be 2400.
In Pot Limit games, there is no cap on the number of raises allowed.

• Mixed Limits – In Mixed Limit events, the betting structure switches between rounds and the betting rules on each round follow the rules as described above. The blinds are typically increased when the game switches from No Limit and Pot Limit structures to Limit to ensure some consistency in the average pot size during each game.

All-In:
A player who does not have enough chips to call a bet is declared “All-In”. The player is eligible for the portion of the pot up to the point of his final wager. All further action involving other players takes place in a ‘side pot’, which the All-In player is not eligible to win. If more than one player goes All-In during a hand, there could be more than one side pot.

Hand Rankings:
Most variations of poker use the following poker hand ranks (From highest to lowest):

• Royal Flush: 10-A of the same suit
• Straight Flush: Five cards of the same suit, in consecutive numerical order
• Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank
• Full House: Three cards of the same rank with two other cards match a different rank
• Flush: Five cards of the same suit
• Straight: Five cards in consecutive numerical order
• Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank
• Two pair: Two cards of matching ranks, another two cards of different matching rank
• One pair: Two cards of matching rank
• High card: No matching cards or straights

Now that you know the basics, please click on the links below to discover and learn how to play all the different formats we offer at the Asian Poker Tour!