Having become one of the most known card games, most popular all around the world and one of Casino's favorites, Poker is always offering “surprises”.
Many of them come from the players who, as time passed, have come up with several strategies, new rules and, of course, variations from the original game, always trying to make it funnier and more competitive.
That's why we have decided that it's necessary to go over the rules of how to play Poker. It may seem to you that not many things have changed, but it doesn't harm to be updated about Poker news.
Let's start by going over the basic rules:
–The Poker game uses a French deck of cards and it's played by the following card values: As (highest), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (the lowest).
–The number of cards to be dealt depends on the Poker variation being played, but it's usually 5.
–The game consists in making card combinations higher valued than the others'. The player's elimination depends on the bets.
Here's a list of the possible winning combinations:
Royal Flush: Straight A, K, Q, J, 10 of the same suit.
Straight Flush: Any 5 cards of the same suit in consecutive numerical order. Example: 7, 8, 9, 10, J.
Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same denomination. Example: 4, 4, 4, 4, 8.
Full House: Three cards of the same denomination plus a pair of another denomination. Example: 5, 5, 5, A, A.
Flush: Any five of the same suit non consecutive numbered. Example: 2, 7, 9, J, K of Spades.
Straight: Any five consecutive cards of different suit. Example: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of different suits.
Three of a kind: Three cards of the same denomination. Example: 3, 3, 3, 6, 9.
Two Pair: Any two cards of the same denomination plus any other two of the same denomination. Example: 2, 2, 5, 5, 10.
Pair: Two cards of the same denomination. Example: 3, 3, 5, 7, Q.
High Card: If you don't have any of the hands above, what counts is the highest card you have. Example: A, 10, 7, 5, 2 (the A is the highest card).
Betting possibilities
Another important issue when it comes to learning how to play Poker are the betting possibilities.
The hand starts with a mandatory initial bet for every player (the amount of money is the same for everyone and it's decided beforehand).
Along the hand there are four bet possibilities:
- Pass: Let the next player play. If you do this, at the end of the hand the bet will get back at you if no one else bets. If everyone passes, a new hand starts, with new cards and starting with the Initial Bet. The pot accumulates for the next round.
- Call: Bet enough to reach the ante. As an example: the ante is €5 and it's raised to €10, you'll have to bet another €5 to “call” and stay in the round. This will happen until no one else raises the bet and everyone calls or folds.
- Raise: To raise, first you have to bet the money for the Initial Bet and then you add the money you want to raise (the raise limit depends on the Poker variation you are playing). Let's say the bet is up to €25 and you raise another €25, the bet will be worth €50. The players that want to “call” will have to bet that money.
- Fold: Folding the current round and giving up the chance to gain the Pot. You don't have to add money to the Bet and you'll only lose the money you have already bet. Sometimes it's better to fold than to play and risk losing money with a weak hand.
With these tips you can say you know how to play Poker. Now all you have to do is learn some strategies and secrets, besides practice and more practice. You can do that for free by entering the sites below:
Póquer En Internet
Online Poker Room
Online Poker Tournament
Online Poker Games