Poker
If you’re reading this, you probably love poker, or something about the game has piqued your interest. Poker has been around for generations, with the recent wave of mobile technologies giving this classic game a new lease of life. If you’re new to the world of poker, you’ll be amazed by the sheer variety of poker games available.
Poker is a family of card games that utilises a player’s gambling skills, instincts, and experience. All poker variants involve betting as an intrinsic part of the play, and a winner is determined based on the combination of cards, at least some of which remain hidden until the very end.
Texas Hold’em is the most popular and widely available poker game, and you’ve probably spotted it in movies and TV shows. Also, it is the most common of all online poker and card games. While this poker game is very well known and played all over the world, others, such as Triple Draw, are far less common but equally exhilarating.
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Learning the basics of common poker games isn’t as complicated an affair as it has been made to seem. Understanding which poker hands are the best can be learned in minutes. Juggling between poker tricks? That’s the real toil which takes years to master.
You’ll find a host of information about poker, including tips, strategies, gameplay, and winning techniques here. This guide can be a helpful poker dictionary that can take your gaming experience to an amplified new level, no matter what your experience or playing style.
Evolution of Poker
For over 1,000 years, the game of poker has evolved across a full spectrum of civilizations. Legend has it that the game can be traced to a domino-card game played by a 10th-century emperor. Others claim that the game originated as a variant of the Persian card game called ‘As Nas’ which was played back in the 16th-century.
In Europe, the closest game to poker was played in the 17th-century and was referred to as Poque. It was very popular in France before spreading to other European countries such as Germany. It has also been claimed that poker is closely related to the 16th-century Spanish game called Primero. In it, players were dealt three cards and betting high on poor cards (bluffing) was a key element of the game.
Historians argue that the game of poker was introduced to North America by the French colonists who brought Poque to the area, especially in New Orleans and the surrounding areas. The game became a casino mainstay in the United States in the early 1800s thanks in part to the Louisiana Purchase.
The English-speaking settlers in the region anglicized Poque to Poker and implemented the system of playing the game using five cards for each player. It was only a matter of time before the game spread across the Mississippi River and throughout the region. Soldiers in both the South and North played the game during the civil war. It then became a staple in the Wild West taverns in the frontier settlements during the 1870s and 80s.
The general acceptance of poker came several decades later in Europe. This saw the birth of five-card draw and seven-card stud. Beginning the 1970s, the most popular poker game of all time, Texas Hold’em, was born and became the featured game in the World Series of Poker. The internet became commonplace in the mid-1990s, but it wasn’t until the late 90s that the first real money poker was offered online.
Today, the internet is packed to the brim with online poker rooms, each promising different games, offers, and tournaments to poker enthusiasts. Some poker rooms focus exclusively on offering mobile poker, others on PC poker, and others offer a mixture of both.
Understanding the Basics
Whether you are playing for fun and kicks with friends and family, or want to flex your mind-muscle online, poker, along with other casino games such as blackjack and roulette, has proven to be one of the most enjoyable games in the world. Having amassed a reputation as a game of skill, strategy, and wit, thanks to the cinematic influence of movies such as Rounders, more and more people are drawn to what the game has to offer.
So, how do you play poker? While the concept and rules of the game may be simple, at least theoretically, you need to learn a lot to flourish as a poker player. In this section, we detail the very specific details about poker hands and their ranking so you can play and build the expertise needed to win.
Poker Hands Ranking
No matter which variant of poker you are playing, the hands will always be the same, and they determine the winner of the game. Before playing, it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with the different hands and how each is ranked. Here is a list of the poker hands from the highest to the lowest:
- Royal Flush – This is the best possible hand in poker. It includes a 10, Jack, Queen, King and an Ace of the same suit. For example, all spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs.
- Straight Flush – This hand includes five cards of the same suit in sequential order. For example, you can have a 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs.
- Four of a Kind – This is a hand that has four cards of the same rank, (of course, different suits) and a fifth card of any rank. For example, you can have four Jacks and a 3.
- Full House – This is a hand that contains three cards of the same kind and two cards of another kind. For example, having three Queens and two 5s.
- A Flush – A hand that includes five cards of the same suit in any order. For example, five random spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs.
- Straight – This is a hand of five cards of any suit in sequential order. Here you can have a set such as a 5 of spades, 6 of hearts, 7 of diamonds, 8 of spades, and 9 of clubs.
- Three of a Kind – This is when you are dealt three cards of the same rank. For example, three 10s and two other unmatched cards.
- Two Pair – This is a hand that contains two different pairs (such as two 7s and two Jacks) and another fifth card.
- One Pair – This is when you are dealt a pair of numerically matching cards, such as two Aces, and three other different cards to make a five-card hand.
- High Card – This is the lowest-ranking hand you can get. There aren’t two cards from the same rank, the five cards are not from the same suit, and they are also not consecutive.
Determining the Winner
Regardless of the type of poker you are playing, the number of players you are playing against, or where you’re playing, the winner in this game is one with the highest-ranking hand. It goes without saying that the player with the Royal Flush will always win the game. If nobody has the Royal Flush, the winner is the one with the Straight Flush, then the one with Four of a Kind, in that order.
How to Play Different Types of Poker
As mentioned above, there are different types of poker, each with different gameplay and betting formats. The most common types of poker include Texas Hold’em, Seven Card Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Caribbean Stud Poker, and many more. Here is a concise explanation of how Texas Hold’em (most popular) and Pot-Limit Omaha (second most popular) are played.
Please Note: The following descriptions typify poker games as played against other players in cash games and tournaments. We don’t offer tournament-versions of these poker games here. Instead, we offer casino poker games in which you’ll play against a dealer.
Texas Hold’em
This is by far the most popular poker game and the one on which most other variations are based. The game here starts with all players being dealt two cards each and five community cards are placed face-up. This variant uses forced bets referred to as blinds. The player to the left of the dealer is the small blind and the next also to the left is the big blind.
You can use community cards to build the strongest hand possible and beat other players. Bets are placed every time the dealer places new cards on the table. The player next to the big blind normally starts the game. After a round of betting is complete, the croupier burns one card face down and deals community cards face up to start the next round of betting.
Before a round begins you have a chance to:
- Check (avoid betting).
- Call (match someone else’s bet).
- Raise (add more money to the betting pool).
- Fold (if you don’t want to match another person’s bet).
The dealer will always burn the first card before dealing new community cards.
After all players have made their best 5-card hands, they show their cards to see who wins. This is called “The Showdown.”
You can opt to use both of your hole cards, one, or none along with the community cards to make the best five-card hand. The online version follows the same format, but the game is played against a computer.
Pot-Limit Omaha
This poker variant is particularly popular for higher rollers in Europe because it offers tons of action. It is the second most popular poker game behind Texas Hold’em. The game also uses blinds and five community cards. All the betting rounds are also exactly the same as the No-Limit Hold’em. The most significant difference is that you get four hole cards instead of two.
In Omaha, players must use two of their hole cards and choose three of the community cards to achieve the best possible 5-card poker hand. If you clearly understand the Hold’em gameplay, it becomes effortless to master Omaha.
Best Poker Strategies and Tips
To round-off this post, it is crucial that we touch on some of the most sound poker strategies and tips. Some of these have been used the best of poker pros and can be utilised by beginners and experienced players alike.
- Fold more, especially when you are not sure.
- Don’t bluff just for the sake of it.
- Pay attention to the cards on the table.
- Don’t pay too much attention to other players.
- Pick the right game based on your skill and bankroll.
- Develop a poker strategy and stick to it.
- Don’t overthink your hand. Concentrate on ranges.
- Don’t be superstitious. Winning poker is about math and cold hard logic.
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