Les règles du poker

New to the world of poker ? Want to get back into the game and refresh your memory? Discover the rules of poker, a table game that combines strategy and adrenaline.

Find out what you need to get started, how a game is played, the rules to follow and the different card combinations available.

Blinds / Antes

Blinds and antes are forced bets that spur players into action. In tournaments, blinds are constantly increasing, forcing players to expose themselves and not wait for the right cards to come along. The blinds are placed by the players seated to the left of the dealer. The first player places the small blind (SB) and the second the big blind (BB). The big blind is usually double the small blind. Preflop, the first player to speak is the one to the left of the big blind. After the flop and in subsequent betting rounds, the small blind speaks first.

Antes are bets paid by all players at the table, adding money to the pot and generating more action. They usually appear after a few levels in tournaments.

The Big Blind Ante

In recent years, to make the dealer's job easier, the Big Blind Ante system has been introduced. This means that the player in the big blind pays the ante for everyone else, paying the big blind a second time. This way, players don't have to think about paying their ante every hand, and the dealer saves time too. 

Card distribution

One player is designated as the dealer. A Dealer button is placed in front of them, indicating that they are the dealer for the next round.

The dealer, or one of the players, deals the cards one at a time face down, clockwise, starting with the player to the left of the Dealer button, also known as the small blind. He gives each player 2 cards before the bidding begins. 

Bidding at poker - how No Limit Hold'em works

Poker is a game of betting. The aim is to raise the stakes when you have a good hand in order to get paid for your big plays, or to make it look like you have a strong hand to force other players to fold (called bluffing).

Before the flop

Once all players have two cards in hand, the first betting round can begin. In No Limit Hold'em, there are a maximum of 4 betting rounds. Preflop, flop, turn and river.

Starting with the player to the left of the big blind (in the Under the Gun position), each player chooses between several options:

  • Follow (or call): match the amount requested.
  • Raise: bet more than has already been bet this round.
  • Fold: abandon the move by giving up your cards.

During the first round of betting (preflop), the betting sequence is a little unusual because of the blinds. The last player to speak preflop is the big blind, who has already (forcibly) bet.

On their turn, they can have 4 options:

  • Check: if no one has raised and the players have simply called, they announce check and close the betting round.
  • Call: they can match the amount of the last bet.
  • Raise: they may choose to increase the stake and bet more than the last raise.
  • Fold: they give up the move by returning their cards to the dealer.

When all the players still in the hand have matched the last bet, the betting round ends, the dealer collects all the chips bet to make up the pot and the next betting round begins.

 

The flop

After this first round of betting (preflop), the dealer burns a card (discards the first card of the deck in the interest of fairness, in case anyone has seen it) and then reveals 3 community cards in the middle of the playing field, known as "the flop". Players make up their hand with their two private cards and the flop cards. A new round of betting begins, and this time it's the small blind that speaks first (and the player with the button who speaks last).

On their turn, the player has three options:

  • Check: the player gives the floor to the next player, while remaining in the game.
  • Bet: the player bets the amount they wish, with the minimum being the size of the big blind.
  • Fold: as you can stay in by checking, this option is very rare. You can check, so why fold?

In the same way as preflop, as soon as the bets are equalized, the betting round ends.

 

The turn

The dealer burns a new card and reveals a fourth community card, known as the turn. A new round of betting begins, with the small blind once again talking first. When the last bet is equalized, we move on to the final round of betting.

 

The river 

The dealer burns a new card and reveals a fifth community card, called the river. The board then displays 5 cards, with which all players can combine their own cards to create the best possible five-card combination. The final round of betting takes place, and as soon as the stakes have been evened out, we witness the showdown.

Slaughter (showdown)

In general, the player whose bet has been paid (or the last aggressor) reveals their cards first, before the other players reveal their hands as well. This is called the showdown.

To determine the strength of your hand:

In Hold'em, you can use:

  • your two private cards 
  • a single card
  • no card

to establish the best possible 5-card combination (see combinations at poker).

If you don't use any cards from your hand, you're said to be playing the board, which means that your hand is made up of the common cards displayed on the carpet.

Example: If you have Jack-10 in your hand and the final board shows JT654, you have two pairs of Jack-10 and your final hand shows JJTT6. A player in possession of 8-7 would beat you with a straight 8-7-6-5-4.

The importance of the kicker

The kicker is a card that accompanies a combination of less than 5 cards and is used to break ties.

In the showdown, a player reveals[A♥️][7♠️] on a[A♣️][J♣️][3♦️][6♠️][8♣️] board, and is beaten by a player with[A♦️][Q♣️]. The first player has a pair of Ace kicker Jacks, the second player has a pair of Ace kicker Queens (their second card wins them the trick over their opponent, who uses only one card from their hand).

Minimum raise amount

If no one has entered the game yet, a raise must be at least twice the size of the big blind. Preflop, on €10/€20 blinds, a player can raise to a minimum of €40 (since the big blind is considered a bet). If playing No Limit, the player can bet anything between €40 and all their chips.

After the flop, the minimum bet is the size of the big blind. A player could therefore bet €20 if they are the first to bet.

If a player has already raised, some gaming establishments allow a minimum raise that is not necessarily double the previous bet, called an "American raise" or sometimes a "clickback".

Example: On the €5/€10 blinds, a player opens at €25. If they wish to raise from the minimum, the next player can place a bet at €25+(€25-€10) = €40 (therefore not necessarily doubling the previous bet).

Playing live

If you're playing live for the first time, don't hesitate to announce everything you do. If you want to raise, announce "raise" and specify the amount you want to raise. If you don't do this and place a single chip in front of you, the dealer will assume that you simply want to pay a bet (and not raise).

To check, you'll quickly notice that most players tap the table to indicate this action. Observe others and imitate them, and you may even find your own style. With your fist, with the flat of your hand, with a finger - be creative!

All-in

In no limit hold'em, you always have the option of betting your entire stack. If you're paid out and win the pot on the showdown, you'll only win your opponents' chips up to the amount of your stack.

Example: A player with a stack of 15,000 chips raises and you go all-in for your last 4,500 chips. Your opponent pays you and you win the pot, gaining 4,500 of your opponent's chips (the size of your stack) and doubling up to 9,000 chips.

Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO)

Very popular in circles and especially in very large online cash games, Pot-Limit Omaha has many of the same rules as No Limit Hold'em, with a few important differences.

  • You have 4 cards in your hand instead of 2 for Hold'em.
  • To create your final 5-card combination, you must use 2 of your own cards (no more, no less) in combination with 3 cards from the table.
  • Pot-Limit Omaha, as the name suggests, is played in Pot Limit, not No Limit.

4 private cards

At the start of a hand, the dealer deals 4 cards to each player seated around the table. You'll have to match 2 of your 4 cards with the community cards progressively revealed on the board, first the flop, then the turn and then the river.

PLO move sequence

As in Hold'em, a PLO hand consists of 4 rounds of betting: pre-flop, flop, turn and river.

 

The blinds: the player to the left of the Dealer chip places a mandatory bet called the small blind, while their neighbor to the left places the big blind, usually twice the value of the small blind.

 

Each player receives 4 face down cards, one at a time, starting with the small blind and ending with the player at the button (the dealer).

Imagine being dealt this hand:[A♥️][A♦️][J♦️][T♣️]

 

First betting round: starting with the player to the left of the big blind (the under-the-gun player - UTG), each player has the floor to bid. As soon as a bid is completed, the flop is revealed.

The dealer places 3 cards face up in the middle of the table. This is called the flop.

The flop[A♥️][9♣️][7♦️] is revealed.

Here, for example, you can use your pair of Aces in hand to make three of a kind, with the Ace of Hearts. But you can also consider that you have a belly flush draw with your Jack-10. If an 8 falls on the turn, you'll have max play. What's more, you also have a max backdoor color draw in diamonds, since you can use your diamond AJ.

 

Second betting round: starting with the small blind this time, each player has the floor and the flop betting round takes place.

The dealer then reveals the turn. And the board now looks like this:

[A♥️] [9♣️] [7♦️] [K♦️]

Here, for example, you have considerably improved your draws, since in addition to your Ace set, you have the max color draw in diamonds and you have a double belly buster (an 8 and a Queen give you a straight).

 

Third betting round: new round of betting, starting once again with the player in the small blind.

The dealer finally reveals the river. And the final table looks like this:

[A♥️] [9♣️] [7♦️] [K♦️] [4♦️]

You must build your final hand using 2 of your own cards and 3 community cards from the table. Here, you use [A♦️][J♦️] from your hand, as well as [7♦️][K♦️][4♦️ ] from the table to make up the max. suit.

 

Last betting round: new and final round of bidding, here you can bid your house since you have the max. game.

 

Your final hand:

[A♦️] [J♦️] [7♦️] [K♦️] [4♦️]

The betting system: Pot-Limit

Although it sometimes exists in Hold'em (with Pot Limit Hold'em), it's mainly in Omaha that Pot-Limit is played.

Historically, it was because the pots swelled a little too quickly in this format that it was decided to set this limit with the maximum bet at pot height.

What you need to understand is that the maximum bet you can make at any point in the move is limited to the size of the pot at that point in the move.

Example: You are on the €5/€10 blinds, a player has opened to €20 UTG and only you have called the bet on the Button. The pot is therefore €20 + €20 + €5 + €10, i.e., €55. Your opponent can bet between €10 (the price of the big blind) and €55 (the size of the pot) on the flop.

Let's say they bet €20. You dream of calling "Pot" to raise from the maximum, how much will your bet be? To calculate this, you first need to work out the size of the pot. In this case, it would be €55 + €20 (the opponent's bet) + €20 (your call of the opponent's bet). In this case, the pot size would be €95. You're allowed to bet this amount in addition to the money you have to put in for your call, i.e., here you could raise to €95 + €20, i.e., €115.

If you're a little confused by this calculation, don't panic. A little trick for counting what you can bet is to calculate "pot size before last bet + 3*last bet", in this case €55 + €3*€20 = €115.

Basically, look at your opponent's last bet, multiply it by 3 and add the size of the pot before that bet to find out the maximum amount you can raise.

Determining your PLO hand

There are countless players who are wrong about the strength of their PLO hand. For example, starting with 4 identical cards doesn't give you a four of a kind hand, but one of the worst possible starting hands, since you only have a pair in your hand and no room for improvement.

If you have, for example,[A♥️][J♠️][7♠️][6♠️]  on a[K♠️][J♥️][5♠️][7♦️][Q♦️] board, you might think you have a spade suit, but you don't. You have a double pair of Jack-7, because you have to use TWO cards from your hand to make your suit. You only have a double Jack-7 pair, because you have to use TWO cards from your hand to make your suit.

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Card combinations at poker

The player who wins a poker hand is the one who has the highest combination between their cards and/or the five cards turned over on the table. Here's a breakdown of poker combinations from smallest to largest:

High card

Five cards of different values, the highest being your hand's high card.

With KJ873, you have a King high card.

Pair

Two cards of the same value.

If you have 77542, you have a pair of 7s.

Double pair

Two distinct pairs, each containing two cards of the same value.

If you have JJ882, you have two pairs Valet-8.

Three of a kind

Three cards of the same value.

If you have 333KQ, you have a three of a kind of 3s.

Straight

Five cards with consecutive values, regardless of suit.

If you have 87654, you have an 8-high straight.

Flush

Five cards of the same suit.

If you have Q9742 all diamonds, you have a diamond flush.

Full House

Three cards of the same rank and two cards of the same rank, i.e., three of a kind + a pair.

If you have TTT22, you have a full house 10s full of 2s.

Four of a kind

Four cards of the same value.

If you have 6666Q, you have a four of a kind of 6.

Straight Flush

Five consecutive cards of the same suit.

If you have JT987 all in spades, you have a Jack-high straight flush in spades.

Royal Flush

Five consecutive cards of the same suit, from 10 to Ace.

If you have TJQKA in heart, you can bet your car, you have a royal flush and incidentally the best possible hand in the game.