Poker

Our Guide to the Best Online Poker Rooms

Poker is a universal card game one of the most popular in the world today.

Played by millions and is a fast growing industry, poker is played in casinos and online. In modern poker games the first round starts with forced betting by a player. In poker & online poker players bet on a hand hoping it will be the highest rank hand in the poker game. The game starts clockwise around the poker table, players must match or either raise or fold there cards.

 

The player who matches the bet can also raise and increase the bet, when all players have either matched the bet or folded the betting round ends. If all but one player fold on any of the rounds, then the player who remains wins the pot. If after the final round there is more than one player still in the poker game, the hands are revealed and the poker player with the highest winning poker hand wins.

There are many different varieties of poker

Straight. Where a complete hand is dealt out and the poker players bet in one round. The poker players may raise & re-raise in the poker game.

Stud Poker – The cards are dealt out to the poker players, the playing card are dealt prearranged in combinations of face-up & face-down, and betting is allowed in each round.

Seven Card stud – similar to the poker game above, but with 2 extra cards per poker player. Where 4 cards face up & 3 cards face down, from which you make the best 5 card hand.

Draw poker – where each poker player is dealt a complete hand, all dealt cards are face down. Once betting is over all the poker players are allowed to change their hands. They can discard unwanted cards and be dealt new cards in order to improve their hand.

Community poker or (flop poker) – The poker players are dealt cards face down, and then a number of face up cards are dealt in the centre of the poker table. Players must make a hand with 5 cards. Texas hold-em and Omaha are two popular and well known games.

There are other poker related games Video poker, Slot machine, video & slot machines play draw poker, where a poker player bets the player receives a hand, then the poker player can discard and replace the cards.

One of the most popular variations of poker is Texas Hold'em. Conveniently it is also the easiest to learn.

To begin with players are dealt two 'hole' cards that only they can see and use. Then, five 'community' cards are dealt in the middle of the table that everyone can see and use with their hand. Players can make their five-card hand from both, one or none of their hole cards in combination with the community cards.

The game is split into four rounds of betting, and the game moves clockwise around the table. Betting starts from the player position next to the dealer button, which moves one place to the left after each hand. In online games, the dealer button replaces the 'real' dealer.

If two or more players hold equally-strong winning five-card hands and tie, the pot will be split between the two players. If there is an odd chip left from the winnings, the player sitting closest to the left of the dealer button will receive this. At PartyPoker.com the value of an odd chip is 1 cent

The Blinds

Before the game starts, the two players sat to the left of the dealer post 'blind' bets, these are called blinds because they are made before the players have seen any cards. The blinds ensure that there is some money in the pot to play for as the game starts. The player to the left of the dealer posts the 'small blind', and the player positioned to his left then posts the 'big blind'.

Pre Flop Action

Each player is dealt two cards, face down. These are called hole or pocket cards. The action begins on the player to the left of the big blind. He or she has three options: call the bet, raise the bet, or fold. 

Call - match the amount bet in the big blind

Raise - increase the amount bet

Fold - give up the cards and any stake in the hand

This betting procedure continues clockwise around the table until each player has had a chance to act on their hand.

If one of them raises, then all players wishing to remain in the pot must match the raise amount, re-raise it or fold without having to invest any more money.

The player in the big blind (the first compulsory full bet), can 'check' and opt to stay in the game without adding anything to the pot. However, if an opponent has raised, then the big blind has three options: fold, call, or re-raise.

Once all players have folded or matched each other’s’ bets, the flop is dealt.

The Flop

This stage involves dealing three 'community' cards face up on the table. Players can use these to make their five-card hand. A second round of betting follows.

The Turn

The fourth community card is dealt face up on the table. The third round of betting follows.

The River

The fifth and final community card is dealt, followed by the final round of betting.

The Showdown

If there is more than one player left in the game, there is a showdown in which the players reveal their cards and the highest hand wins. If two players share an identical hand, the pot is split.

The Rank of Hands

The rank of hands remains the same no matter which type of poker game you play.

In a nutshell, a poker hand consists of five cards. Poker hands fall into one of several categories, such as flush, straight, or two pair. The player with the highest ranking hand is the winner.