Poker Guide: Ultimate Poker Cheat Sheet

Some casino players find learning to play poker challenging. However, that doesn’t have to be the case. Playing the card game can be easy if you know all the rules, expressions, and actions involved. That’s what we aim to cover in this detailed poker cheat sheet. So, read on to find out all you need to become a pro poker player.

Full List of All Poker Hand Rankings

The first thing to learn is the various hand rankings in poker. We’ve outlined the poker hands cheat sheet below:

• Royal Flush. This hand consists of A, K, Q, J, and 10, all of the same suit. It’s the best hand you can possibly get in poker since it features the highest cards.
• Straight Flush. Here, the hand will feature five consecutive cards of the same suit. However, it won’t have any of A, K, Q, J, or 10. A good example is a hand with 9, 8, 7, 6, and 5 of hearts.
• Four of a Kind. Also known as Quads, this poker hand ranking has four cards of the same rank — like four aces, for example.
• Full House. A full house hand will consist of three cards of the same rank and two cards of a different rank. If you get 8, 8, 8, 5, 5, for instance, that’s a full house.
• Flush. This hand ranking features five cards of the same suit but not in a sequence. Hence, the cards can be of any rank.
• Straight. You get a straight hand if you receive five consecutive cards of different suites. To illustrate, 9, 8, 7, 6, and 5 give a straight hand.
• Three of a Kind. This hand consists of three cards of one rank and two other cards that don’t form a pair. A, A, A, K, Q is a perfect example of such a hand, and you can also refer to it as a Set or Trips.
• Two Pair. A Two Pair hand involves two sets of pairs, with each having two cards of the same rank. In addition, the hand will have a card of a third rank, like A, A, J, J, 6.
• One Pair. For the One Pair hand, it consists of two cards of equal rank and three cards of unmatched hands. An example is K, K, A, J, 5.
• High Card. When none of the above-listed hands are made, the resulting configuration is a High Card. It’s the lowest in the poker hand rankings.

Poker Most Popular Expressions

While at the table, you’ll come across certain words that may sound unfamiliar. These are expressions unique to the card game, and you can learn the most popular ones below:

• Call. When you call in poker, you agree to match the current bet. In other words, you want to continue in the hand.
• All in. This expression means a player has decided to bet all their chips on one hand. Usually, you can only go all-in with the amount of chips you began the hand with.
• Flop. You’ll hear the expression when playing the popular Texas Hold’em or Omaha poker variants. It simply refers to the first three community cards dealt face-up in the center of the table.
• Check-raise. To check-raise means to first check and then raise. Checking implies passing your turn if there has been no bet before yours in the round. Meanwhile, you raise by increasing the current bet amount.
• Double barrel. With double barrel, you place a second bet on the turn after an initial bet on the flip. This is one poker strategy many players employ to apply pressure on opponents.
• Pot odds. The pot odds refer to the ratio between the current pot size and the bet. It’s one criterion to consider for decision making when playing poker, especially for a call.
• Equity. This expression means the share a player has to win the pot. It’s usually calculated as a percentage, and the rate depends on the current cards and the situation of the game round.

Playing the Flop, Turn, and River

Flop, Turn, and River are the initial community cards dealt face-up on the table. They’re crucial in Texas Hold’em and Omaha, and knowing how to play them can improve your winning chances. Let’s look at some poker cheat sheet strategies you can apply during these three stages and if you are a complete beginner, check our guide on how to play poker.

The Flop

You can use the first three community cards to form the best possible hand. For that, a good strategy is to first assess how the cards can impact your current hand. That’ll involve looking at different potential combinations. Notably, you can choose to initiate the bet or respond to your opponents.

It’s best to initiate if you can create a strong hand from the Flop. Otherwise, monitor your opponents’ actions and respond accordingly. Furthermore, you should also pay attention to how your opponents react to the Flop. This will give insights into whether they can form hands stronger than yours.

The Turn

With the Turn on the table, every player has six cards from which they can form their best hand. Like in the Flop stage, the first thing to do is evaluate how the new card can influence your hand. If your hand hasn’t improved, you may want to consider a flop to avoid losses.

The River

As the third and last of the three stages, you’ll likely still be in the round if you have a moderate to strong hand. Before you make your final move, consider the pot odds and how much you can potentially win. If you have a strong hand that you believe will win, aggressive betting is one strategy to employ. You’ll initiate or raise the bet to a high amount to maximize winnings.

From our poker hand cheat sheet, another strategy to try is bluffing. If you don’t have the strongest hand, a bluff might convince your opponents that you do. Hence, some may fold or make incorrect decisions that find you an edge.

Texas Hold’em Betting Rounds Explained

There’s no debate that Texas Hold’em is the most popular poker variant to play. Hence, having a poker Texas Holdem cheat sheet will help when playing the card game. With that in mind, let’s look at the different betting rounds for the variant.

Round 1: Pre Flop

This is the kickoff round, where each player gets two private cards — known as hole cards. The cards are dealt face-down as the first stage of betting begins. As a player, you can fold, call, or raise depending on your hole cards.

Betting usually starts with the player to the left of the big blind. For the round to complete, all players must have folded or matched the highest bet. When there are no more raises, active players move to the next round.

Round 2: Flop

The Flop round is where things get serious as the first three community cards are dealt. Unlike the pre Flop, the Flop cards are dealt face-up. Players will have to form their best possible hand using the three cards and the initial hole cards.

Typically, the first player at the small blind starts betting in the Flop round, and actions include betting, calling, raising, or folding. It’s also possible to check if no one has made a bet. The game will progress to the next round after each player has participated by betting or folding.

Round 3: Turn

In the third Texas Hold’em round, the dealer releases the fourth community card. It’s dealt face-up, besides the first three from the previous round. The rules for the Turn are the same as that of the Flop. Players can bet, call, raise, fold, or check, as the case may be.

Round 4: River

Here’s the round where the dealer uncovers the last community card. Hence, it’s the final betting round where players must form their best card combinations to win. The game can end in the River round if only one hand remains after players perform their actions. However, if there’s more than one active hand at the table, it goes to a showdown.

Showdown

This isn’t exactly a betting round. When the dealer calls for a showdown, the remaining players at the table will reveal their cards. Whoever has the best card combination at the showdown will win the pot.

Positions in Poker Explained

You can’t play at poker tables if you don’t understand the different positions. This is why we have included it in this poker cheat sheet for beginners. You’ll find the most popular positions in the card game and what they represent in the subsequent sections.

UTG

UTG is short for “Under the Gun.” The position is directly to the left of the big blind, and any player seated there starts the betting round. As a result, being in the UTG position is relatively challenging as you have no prior information on the actions of your opponents.

Early Position

The early position comes after UTG. Notably, players in this position have to post the small blind and big blind. Like being Under the Gun, you’ll have limited information to capitalize on when in an early position.

Middle Position

In poker, you’re in a middle position if you’re up to three seats in at the table. This also means you’re about two or three seats away from the late position seats. Many players consider the middle position favorable since those in the early positions must have made their turns.

Cutoff

This position is at the right of the button. It’s one of the best seats you can get at the poker table because you get a good view of other participants. Hence, you can read your opponents’ actions before making a decision.

Button

Here’s the last position in poker and, unarguably, the most advantageous. If you’re at the button, you’re the last player to act in the round. So, you can capitalize on actions by all the other opponents before you bet, call, raise, or fold.

Small and Big Blind

The small and big blinds refer to the positions at the left of the button. Particularly, the small blind is immediately to the left of the button; then the big blind comes next. If you’re in any of these positions, you’ll have to make forced bets before seeing your cards.

Common Poker Strategies

Next we’ll discuss in this detailed poker cheat sheet are common strategies players use at the table. Check them out below:

Bluffing

When you bluff in poker, you give others the impression that you have a strong hand, when in reality you don’t. For instance, you may decide to raise the bet when you’re not sure of winning the round. A good time to bluff is when your opponents’ betting pattern shows they may be considering a flop. However, it’s always best to bluff with a semi-strong hand.

Reading opponents

Generally, while playing poker, you must pay attention to what other players are doing. From their actions, you’ll know the best decision to take to get the upper hand. While reading your opponents, pay attention to their bet sizes and reactions to the community cards.

Bet sizing

This strategy demands you adjust your bet amount to match the pot size and current cards. When you size your bets correctly, you can get more value from your strong hands and reduce losses from weak ones if you fold.

Positional awareness

One common strategy while poker is knowing and taking advantage of your position. For instance, if you’re in an early seat, it’s best to exercise caution and avoid marginal plays. However, if you’re in a late position, you have the advantage of seeing all opponents’ actions. You can act aggressively if the actions so far warrant it.

Hand selection

The hand you kick off with at the poker table can significantly influence your success. There are tight and loose ranges — the former means going with only strong hands, while the latter can accommodate smaller pairs. You should play your range depending on your position. For instance, a tight range is ideal in early positions, while at a late position, you can consider the loose option. Generally, the best poker starting hands are big pocket pairs and connecting cards like AA, QQ, and KK.

Advanced Strategies: GTO vs Exploitative Strategy

Although at first you’ll probably play in a comfort of your own home in various poker sites, you’ll gradually advance to the more serious games. To become a pro online poker player, you’ll need to know how to play advanced strategies like GTO and exploitative. GTO — short for Game Theory Optimal — involves a balanced approach at the poker table. You place your bets and take actions without considering the tendencies of other players. Hence, the advantage is that your opponents won’t have any effect on your gameplay.

On the other hand, when playing using the exploitative strategy, you’ll pay attention to what your opponents do. The target is to exploit their weaknesses to get the edge at the table. With such a playing style, the upside is that you can adapt to situations and maximize profits. However, our tip from this poker cheat sheet is to combine both GTO and explorative strategies, depending on your opponents.

Odds and Probabilities

For every poker round, the odds and probabilities provide insights on how much you can potentially win. As a result, it’s essential you understand how they work. With high odds, the probability of winning is low, and vice versa.

Generally, odds in land-based and online poker are presented as a ratio — like 10:1, for example. Going by the example, it means you can get $10 for each $1 you bet if you win. However, it’s also common for odds to be presented as probabilities in percentages.

Calculating Odds

Different poker hands have varying odds and probabilities. To become an expert player, you need to know how to calculate the rates to make informed decisions. For that, you first have to know your “outs”. A simple definition for outs are cards that can improve your hands, especially compared to that of other players.

For example, you may have a hand of 4 hearts, and you’re aiming for a flush. A full deck consists of 13 hearts, meaning there’ll be 9 hearts left from which you can complete the flush. So, the number of outs is 9. To put it mathematically, calculate 13 – 4 = 9.

Once you know your outs, you can easily calculate odds for any round using the 2/4 rule. If you have the Turn and River round remaining, you’ll go with 4. However, if it’s just the last round, you go with 2. Here’s how it works:

• Calculate the number of outs remaining after the dealer has drawn the flop.
• Multiply the number of outs by 4 or 2, depending on the number of cards you’re expecting. So, if the number of outs is 9, you have 9 x 4 = 36% as the odds if you still have the Turn and River round. On the other hand, if there’s just one card to go, the odds are 9 x 2 = 18%.

Calculating Pot Odds

Pot odds in poker are relatively more straightforward to calculate. You simply divide your bet by the total pot size and multiply by 100. That is:

• Pot odds = Player bet size / Total pot size

Suppose the current pot size is $50, and you want to bet $10. It means the total pot size after your turn will be $60. With that, you can calculate the pot odds as:

• Pot odds = 10 / 60 x 100 = 16.7%

Having the Right Poker Bankroll

Out of all tips for winning the game, this is probably the most important one. An essential aspect of a poker cheat sheet is understanding and managing your poker bankroll. Effective bankroll management is critical for long-term success in online poker. It involves playing at stakes where your bankroll can withstand the natural variances of the game. This means not risking a significant portion of your bankroll in a single game or session, thereby avoiding the risk of a complete wipe-out. A good cheat sheet might suggest guidelines for the minimum bankroll needed for different levels of stakes. This approach helps in making informed decisions about when to move up or down in stakes based on the size of your bankroll. Remember, managing your bankroll is as crucial as knowing the odds and strategies of the game. It’s a fundamental skill that underpins your ability to play sustainably and profitably.

How to Avoid Mistakes While Playing Poker

You can use information from our poker rules cheat sheet to increase your winning chances. At the same time, however, there are certain mistakes to avoid so things don’t take an unfavorable turn. We’ve outlined these mistakes below:

• Don’t invest much in weak hands, especially if you’re in an early position. In such cases, folding can help you minimize your losses.
• Avoid bluffing frequently, as your opponents can quickly tell when you overdo it. If you always bluff, the strategy will become ineffective.
• Try not to be distracted by external factors as you play. Your focus should be on the table and other opponents so you can capitalize on any opportunity.
• Don’t skip reviewing your gameplay. You should be able to identify your mistakes and areas where you can improve.
• Avoid playing too many hands, especially during the pre Flop stage. Instead, give extra cards back to the dealer before the first three community cards are dealt.
• Don’t only rely on statistics and software. These tools can be helpful when playing poker at online casinos, but they don’t read the game in real time. So, you can consider stats to understand past playing styles and strategies, but for real-time decisions, rely more on your intuition.

Tips for Winning Online Poker Tournaments

Of course, if you are just at the beginning of your online poker career, you’re probably far from tournaments, however, if you one day decide to participate, here are the top tips on how to win an online poker tournament:

1. Adjust Your Starting Hand Range: Be more open to playing a wider range of starting hands as the tournament progresses.
2. Manage Your Stack Wisely: Focus on playing according to the size of your chip stack rather than the number of cards in your hand.
3. Pre-Flop Strategy: Adopt a strategy of opening small and frequently, but avoid overdoing it to maintain unpredictability [2].
4. Use a HUD and Take Notes: Employ a Heads-Up Display (HUD) for better tracking of opponents’ tendencies and take detailed notes.
5. Defend Your Big Blind: Be vigilant in defending your big blind to maintain your chip stack.
6. Enter Pots with a Raise Preflop: Always enter the pot with a raise preflop to assert dominance and control of the game.
7. Prepare for Long Sessions: Be mentally and physically prepared for the extended duration of low buy-in, large field tournaments.

FAQ

What is the 7 2 rule in poker?

The 7-2 rule in poker is known as the worst hand a player can possibly get. That’s because they’re the lowest cards in the deck, and you can’t use them to create a straight hand.

What is the cheat sheet in poker?

The poker cheat sheet is a guide that provides all the information you need to know about playing the card game. You’ll find both 5 and 3 card poker cheat sheet guides. Typically, they contain details about poker hand rankings, betting rounds, and tips and strategies to win.

Are poker cheat sheets legal?

The legality of poker cheat sheets varies based on the setting and platform. In most casinos and formal poker tournaments, the use of cheat sheets is not permitted, as they are considered a means of gaining an unfair advantage. Similarly, online poker platforms typically prohibit their use. It’s crucial to familiarize yourself with the specific rules of the venue or platform to avoid violating any regulations, especially if you intend to use our Texas Holdem Poker Cheat Sheet PDF. In contrast, cheat sheets may be allowed in casual home games, where they are often viewed as educational tools to assist new players. However, even in these informal settings, it’s important to confirm with the host and other players to ensure that using a cheat sheet is acceptable and does not contravene any local laws regarding home poker games

What is the best 5 card rule in poker?

The best 5 card rule in poker refers to the five cards you use to create your best hand. Usually, dealers apply this rule to decide the winner when the game goes to a showdown.

What is the strongest hand in poker?

The strongest hand in poker is the Royal Flush. It comes first in hand rankings and consists of A, K, Q, J, and 10 of the same suit.