Beginner's Guide to Playing Poker

WSOP.ca is an online poker room for residents of Ontario, Canada, offering a wide range of poker games and tournaments to players.

Powered by the global poker giant GGPoker, WSOP Ontario caters for poker players of all levels.

Whether you are new to online poker, or an experienced player who is wanting to learn more, our guides to playing poker come with tips and strategies for players of all levels.

If you are yet to register at WSOP.ca, the WSOP Ontario bonus code NEWBONUS allows you to make possible start to your poker experience! 

Poker is a game played with a deck of 52 cards. Players place bets against each other and rely on their hand and poker strategy – as well as some luck – to try and win the pot.

The most popular version of poker is Texas Hold’em, which is one of the types of poker available at WSOP.ca.

In Texas Hold’em poker, your hand is formed after you have been dealt two ‘hole’ cards and five community cards (three on the flop, one on the turn and one on the river), which you must combine to form a five-card hand with the most equity.

You can win at poker in two different ways:

Showdown is when there is no clear winner after betting rounds have taken place and all players at the table have to reveal their cards to determine who has the most valuable hand.

There are some basic rules that you need to follow in order to establish a basic poker strategy.

Some helpful poker tips and basic rules to follow include:

Poker Hand Rankings - In poker, the highest-value hand determines who the winner is. Because of this, it is important to understand poker hand rankings so you are aware of the best time to either bluff, call, fold or raise.

The hand with the most equity is a Royal Flush, which consists of A, K, Q, J and 10 all in the same suit. The least valuable poker hand is a High Card.

Table Positions - Table positions determine the order of the game. The action centres on either the dealer or the button, as well as the small and big blinds which are situated to the left of the button.

These table positions act first after the flop. They also influence what other players will do in each round. 

Pre-Flop and Post-Flop - The pre-flop action begins with the player who is sitting to the left of the big blind. It continues clockwise with the big blind acting last. Players must decide between three different actions: calling, folding and raising.

The flop refers to dealing and revealing three of the five community cards. The game then moves on to the post-flop, where you and all other players can either bet, call, check, fold or raise based on how the three community cards have impacted their hands.

Post-Turn – The turn is the fourth community card and is dealt after the flop. This is followed by another round of betting.

Post-River – The River takes place with the fifth community card being revealed. All players at the table will know at this point what their most-valuable hand looks like.

If the game remains without a clear winner after the River, the game continues and moves to a showdown.

The Showdown – When two or more players are left in the game, the showdown happens at this point.

In the showdown, all remaining players must reveal their cards. The player who has the most valuable five-card hand at this point is the winner and takes the pot.

If you are new to poker, by following some basic tips you will quickly understand how the game works and you will soon be in a position to start refining your strategy.

Here are a few poker tips for beginners: 

A common mistake made by beginners is to play every hand. However, the more hands you play the higher the odds are of losing. You should consider the probability of success and the hands your opponents may be holding. Establishing when to fold and when to play is key to success.

Many players wrongly believe that you need to bluff to win in poker. However, it is often better to play your cards well rather than trying to bluff your opponents.

Real bluffing success comes from knowledge and practice.

Make sure you never lose focus on what cards have been dealt, as they often will determine how successful your hand is likely to be!

As a beginner, you will lose many games. However, you should always try to learn from your losses, as well as from your wins! By doing this, you will soon improve and be able to strengthen your strategy in the long term.

You can get started at the poker tables by logging in to your WSOP Ontario account.

If you’re yet to join this exclusive poker room, it only takes a minute to open an account. Here is a quick guide to registering:

That’s all there is to it!

Your poker account is now open and you can claim your bonus, which is awarded in the form of a 100% deposit bonus.

Good luck at the tables!