Poker is a synonym for a very common and popular online casino game.
However Poker is not one game. It’s a game with many different varieties, with some common and some different rules.
Let’s clarify.
When we say common rules well the basics for each variety is the same. Players bet on the strength of the cards they hold.
Strength ( down below more detailed) is the same for every game variety and it goes from high card, one pair, two pairs, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind (also called poker), straight flush and the strongest royal flush. The goal is to win the “pot”. Pot is awarded to the player with the highest ranked cards. Pot is consisted of player’s wagers (bets) during the game round.
More or less those are the same rules for each variety of Poker. Now each variety has its own rules and in this tutorial we will go through some of the most popular poker games such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Five card draw, etc.
Some poker games are played with the whole card deck, some are played with reduced decks and some are played with few decks. In the most varieties 2 is the lowest and Ace (A) is the highest card.
In the most poker varieties five cards count for the match weather they are on the flop, or in player hands. In some varieties of poker player holds all five cards in hands in others some cards are community cards visible to all players at the flop while player holds two or four cards in his hands, and in some other varieties of the poker some cards are visible and some hidden from other players.
Hand Card Strengths
HIGH CARD – when there is no other combination, winner is the player with the highest card in hand. If there are few players with the same high card, in some poker games pot is split between them and in others second or third high card decide the winner.
ONE PAIR – two matching cards and three unrelated cards (for example 10 10 2 J Q ).
TWO PAIRS – two plus two different matching cards with fifth card unrelated (for example 10 10 2 2 Q ).
THREE OF A KIND – three matching cards with two unrelated cards( for example Q Q Q 2 J ).
STRAIGHT – five non suited cards in a row(for example 10 J Q K A or 2 3 4 5 6 ). In a case of a tie, highest card on the top of the sequence wins.
FLUSH – five suited cards not in a sequence. In case of a tie, player with the highest card wins (for example A J 8 5 3 .
FULL HOUSE – two plus three matching cards( for example K K 8 8 8 ).
FOUR OF A KIND (POKER) – four matching cards (for example 10 10 10 10 ).
STRAIGHT FLUSH – five suited cards in a row where top card is not Ace ( A ).
ROYAL FLUSH – five suited cards in a row from 10 to Ace ( A ).
How To Play Poker Online
Each poker game starts with a forced bet over which players compete. In most of poker games, forced bet are small and big blinds and sometimes there is also antes. Small and big blinds are paid by the first and second player in a row after the dealer while antes is played by all players in each hand.
There are several actions available for the players during the hand and those are CHECK, BET, FOLD, CALL, RAISE(RE-RAISE).
CHECK – when there is no bet to match, player on his turn can CHECK. When player CHECK’s the action passes by to the next player.
BET – if there is not a wager yet on a current betting round, player can BET. Next player after him can either CALL, FOLD, or RAISE on his bet.
FOLD – If the player thinks his cards are not good enough to match betting player, he FOLDs his card and this round is over for this players. If all other players fold, winner is player who placed the BET.
CALL – If the player thinks his cards can match or are better than cards of a player who BET, he CALLs the bet. This means that player will match the bet (wager at the table).
RAISE (RE-RAISE) – When player is confident in his cards, he will RAISE the BET set by the player before him. RE-RAISE is every following RAISE after. RE-RAISE ends with a CALL or a FOLD from other player(s).
Round is over after a showdown. Showdown comes after betting is over and there is two or more players competing. They show their cards and the strongest combination wins. Round can also be over if no one matches the BET. In that case, player who set the BET wins the pot.
In some poker varieties, winner is not obligated to show his cards if no one matches the bet. Also, player with weaker cards can muck, and other players will not see cards he betted on. Player who set the BET must show his cards only if one of other players matched his BET.