The sequence of play
In poker, everything passes to the left. The dealer deals the cards, clockwise, one at a time to all the players, beginning with the players to his left, the turn to bet passes from player to player to the left and when each hand is over, the player to the leaf of the previous dealer deals.
First dealer
Once everybody is seated, the first dealer is chosen in the same way as seats are chosen, except the banker this time deals a card to himself as well as the other players. If two players or more hold equal highest cards the banker deals a second card to each of them. The player with the highest card is first dealer.
In a casino, where the dealer is not one of the poker players, a button or disc is used to designate the player who would otherwise be the dealer, and this button passes round the table to determine who receives cards first, who bets first etc. This is a simple way of avoiding arguments about who’s turn it is.
PROGRESSION OF THE DEAL AND PLAY The person to the left of the dealer is, in most circumstances, the first person to receive cards and to bet. When a hand is completed, the deal and turn to play first move to the left.
Antes
To make the game more rewarding, financially, in most forms of online poker a number of chips are put into the middle of the table to start the pot before each deal. These are called the ante. Most commonly, each player puts one chip into the pot before the deal. For convenience, sometimes the dealer puts in for all players, e.g. if there are eight players, the dealer puts in eight chips. After eight deals, each player’s contribution in antes is equal. The ante is placed in the center of the table and usually, for convenience, kept separate from the stakes each player bets during the deal, as the amount of each player’s bet should be easy to see. The winner takes the ante and the best at the end of each deal.
BIG AND SMALL BLINDS
Sometimes, instead of an ante, where all players put in, a blind bet is made by each of the first two players to the dealer’s left. The first player puts in one chip called an ante, or small blind. The second player puts in a larger amount, agreed before hand say two chips, called a straddle, or big blind. The third player is the first to bet voluntarily. The small and big blinds are placed in front of the players making them, since they count as actual bets rather than antes.
ANTES AND BLINDS BETS In the ante, each player will contribute an equal amount; say one chip, to a pile in the middle of the table, as shown. Where only some players contribute, as in the system of big and small blinds, the chips count as part of the players’ bets.