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Online Poker is the traditional poker card game played over the internet, either against other players in a Live Casino, or against the computer. Our guide to online poker has everything on how to play online poker in Australia.
Getting Started on how to play online poker in Australia
There’s not much that you need to start playing online poker. Needless to say, you need a computer or laptop though it doesn’t have to be a majorly expensive one. You can also play on a mobile device such as a tablet or smart phone – whether that’s Android or iOS.
As for money, you should play within your budget. In fact, you can even play some of the games in demo mode to get the hang of the game. Some games will allow you to play for stakes as low as $0.01. You may not be winning massive amounts but it does make your budget go further.
Picking an online casino
To play online poker, you need an online casino with online poker which has a good array of table games. Many of them focus on real money pokies but more and more are offering a greater range of card games such as poker, blackjack and baccarat, including their many variants.
Check out our online casino reviews which will tell you how many card games there are and which types. Then you can check out other important factors like bonuses, banking methods and return to player percentage (RTP).
Bonuses
The casino reviews will also let you know whether there are any bonuses you can claim, and whether there are any for poker specifically.
Things to consider with the bonuses are:
- Whether it is a no deposit bonus or percentage match to your deposit
- How much you need to play to clear the whole amount
- Total value of the bonus
Deposits & Withdrawals
Whichever site you choose, you’ll find a range of banking methods available, ranging from credit cards such as Visa to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
Ensure the site is secure – all sites recommended by Best Aussie Pokies are verified for this – with 128-bit encryption and SSL certificates. In addition, you need to check the payout terms for fairness.
Increasingly, cryptocurrencies are more common at online betting sites. However, that does not mean there aren’t options such as ewallets, debit and credit cards, and prepaid cards.
How to play online poker in australia
There may be many variations on the game, but there are some rules which tend to stay the same. The aim is to be the last player standing or to win with the strongest hand of all the players remaining.
Classic poker, upon which the other variations are based, has the following rulers:
- There is a standard deck of cards
- Five cards are dealt to each player
- Bets are placed once players have checked their hands
- Players keep or discard cards
- Players continue to bet on their hands until either all bar one has folded or there is a showdown of hands
Poker Terminology
The following poker terms are key when playing online poker:
| Term | Definition |
| All-in | When a player goes all-in they’re wagering all of their available chips
|
| Ante | The mandatory bet for every player at the start of each round |
| Blind | Forced bets posted by players to the left of the dealer when playing poker variants including a flop |
| Call | A player ‘calls’ when they match a bet or raise |
| Check | A player calls check when they want to defer making a bet. The pay moves to the next player, when someone else bets, then the player who checked must fold, raise or call |
| Fold | When a player no longer wants to take part in that round, they fold. This is usually because they cannot match the bet or do not think they can win |
| Paytable | Important for online poker players as it is a table that shows the possible payouts in the game |
| Raise | To raise is to increase the size of an existing bet in that round |
Winning Poker Hands
The most important element of poker is to know the ranking of winning hands. You don’t want to fold on a royal flush by mistake!
In poker, Ace is high which means it goes above the King in order of ranking.
| Royal Flush
|
A-K-Q-J-10 of the same suit. |
| Straight Flush
|
Five sequential cards of the same suit. |
| Four of a Kind
|
Four cards of the same face value. |
| Full House
|
Three cards of the same value and a pair of another value |
| Flush
|
Five cards of the same suit – cards not sequential |
| Straight
|
Five sequential cards, different suits |
| Three of a Kind
|
Three cards of the same value |
| Two Pair
|
Two cards of the same value, two cards of another value |
| One Pair
|
Two cards of the same value |
| High Card
|
No winning combinations present, so highest card in hand wins |
Poker Variants
When playing online poker you’re likely to come across more variants of the game than you would in a land-based casino.
The main games are:
Texas Hold’em
This game starts with 2 cards dealt to each player, with five community cards (in other words cards which each player can count towards their hand). It starts with three community cards laid down – the flop, followed by another card (the turn). The final card is called the river.
Omaha
Players start with 4 cards dealt to them, however, they can only use 2 of them along with three of the five community cards.
Caribbean Stud
Rather than playing against each other, all players are not focused on betting the dealer. The same ranking as classic poker is used.
Seven-card Stud
Popular with Australians, seven card stud is a completely different take on the game. Seven cards are dealt to each player, four of which are visible to the other players. This makes betting very interesting, as you can imagine!
Pai Gow
Pai Gow adds a joker to the pack, literally. Players are dealt seven cards and from those they need to make one ‘big hand’ and one ‘small hand’ using just two cards. High scoring pairs are best for the small hand.
Video Poker
This is the wild card (excuse the pun).Video poker is played on a machine, with the reels dropping the cards. You can hold cards for the next spin, and if you get a winning hand, your account grows. Simple!
Different Forms of Betting
When playing online poker you’ve got to take into account the betting rules. There are different options available including: No limit, fixed limit, pot-limit and value bet.
- Fixed Limit Poker: As the name suggests, there’s a limit to the size of bet you can place for each round. They increase, but within limits.
- Pot Limit Poker: You can place large wagers with this form of betting; however, the limit of bet is the size of the pot. That means you can increase with each round, but no one is going to go all-in at the very start.
- No Limit Poker: Yes, you can go hell for leather on the size of your bets in this type of game. The only constraint is that you must match the minimum or least bet placed. Otherwise, the only limit is your stack.
- Value Bet: This is more of a tactic, than a rule. If you’re holding a hand which is not the strongest, you can pressure the other players to fold by adding pressure with your bet. When you have a strong, or what you think is the strongest hand at the table, then by placing a value bet you’re forcing your competition to call.
Online poker tips & strategy
There’s skill, strategy and luck involved in a game of online poker. Once you’ve learned the rules as described above, then it’s time to apply some online poker strategy to help iprove your chances of a win.
Don’t Play Every Hand
It’s tempting to play every hand. However, sometimes it’s better to fold a weak hand than just throw good money after bad. You can then watch the play develop and learn from what’s going on regarding the betting.
The best starting hands are:
- A-A
- K-K
- Q-Q
- J-J
- A-K same suit
- A-Q same suit
- A-J same suit
- K-Q same suit
Other mid-range pairs are also worth a punt every now and again, depending on what turns up on the flop.
Understand the Hand Rankings
Make sure you learn the ranking of the hands, as we’ve provided above. Not only do you need to consider what you’re holding but the possibility of what everyone else is holding as well.
Don’t Bluff Too Much
It’s tempting, especially if it paid off once, to keep bluffing when you have a weak hand. However, if it is a hand that goes for several rounds of betting, you could end up using a fair portion of your stack.
A semi-bluff on a hand that could do well on the turn and river, may be worth it, if the possible hand is a high ranking one.
Don’t Play Beyond Your Bankroll or Skill Level
It’s important to have a responsible gambling outlook to your play. Take into account your total budget and play accordingly. If you have $50 you need to look for games where you can play for buy-ins of $0.01 and $0.02. If your budget is larger, say $1,000 then you could afford to play at $5 or $10 buy-ins.
However, the serious poker players are going to be playing at that level. Do you have the skill level to go in at that level of buy-in? If you’re not confident enough, play for lower buy-ins and build up your experience. It just means your bankroll will go a lot further.
Learn the Odds And Outs of Online Poker
A large and important part of the game is understanding the odds or percentages of hitting your hand. For example, if you have a flush draw with two hearts in your hand and two on the flop, that means in a standard 52-card deck there are nine more hearts in play. This means you have nine more outs.