The year Queen Victoria ascended to the throne in 1837, is when poker developed into more or less the game we have today. Poker essentially refers to a family of games. Rules for poker games vary depending on which version you are playing. Having said that, all poker games are based on the purest form of the game “5 card stud”. Therefore if you can get to grips with the basics you should find yourself being easily able to switch between the most popular games, Texas Hold ’Em, Seven Card Stud and Omaha.
In “5 card stud” each player is dealt five cards before the betting commences. Players can bet that theirs is the best hand or fold and wait for a better hand. If a player bets more money into the pot than anyone else is prepared to equal then that player takes the pot! S/He isn’t even obliged to show his/her cards. However, should a player match the highest bet then there is a showdown. All the cards are revealed and the player with the best hand is in the money.
Every form of poker has a ranking system for the hands, simply to distinguish what beats what. To see what beats what in poker please follow this link*.The rankings are arranged in order by statistical probability, and go from a high card to that seemingly elusive royal flush, yet it does happen!
All rules for poker games are based upon this ranking system and no matter how many cards are dealt (for example in “Texas Hold ‘Em” you will receive seven cards) each poker hand is made up of five cards. “5 Card Stud” however was soon ripe for a revolution, which came in the shape of: The Draw.
“5 Card Draw” is similar to stud poker yet it has a twist. Rather than being stuck with what you are given in the initial deal, a new round of betting was introduced where players could exchange one or more of the cards in their hands for new cards from the deck, after which followed another hand of betting. This means twice the bets and twice the chance for a better hand. This was an improvement and the game became much more exciting yet the rules for poker games were to undergo a final change before the arrival of the phenomenon that is “Texas Hold ‘Em, easily the most popular version of poker in 2009, with the introduction of ‘Community Cards’. ‘Community cards’ are also used in the popular Omaha version of the game.
In Texas Hold ‘Em, each player is dealt two ‘hole cards’, before this however, players must take it in turn to post ‘blinds’ (This moves counter clockwise every hand). The ‘big blind’ and the ‘small blind’ are employed so that there is always action, even if every player folds to the ‘big blind’ there is still money won with every set of hands dealt. During tournament play the ‘blinds’ will go up every so often (for example, every ten minutes) this advances the play and ensures even the most cautious player must get involved sooner or later. There is then a round of betting based on the strength of the ‘hole cards’ alone.
Next, there are three cards dealt into the middle of the table, this is known as ‘The Flop’. (You may have heard players say “I have flopped a straight” or “I have flopped a flush”, this is excellent news and is poker parlance for having made a strong hand without even seeing the final two cards). There is then another round of betting based on the strength of the ‘two hole cards’ and ‘the flop’. A fourth community card is then dealt this is known as ‘The Turn’. Once again a round of betting ensues. Finally a fifth card is dealt, this is known as ‘The River’, players make their hands from the ‘two hole’ cards and the most suitable three cards on ‘the flop’ together. (Don’t worry if you are scared of missing anything, all internet poker sites will calculate your best hand for you!).
There is then a final round of betting before a showdown, that is when two or more players have continued to bet or have equalled the betting and the pot needs to be awarded to the strongest hand. Play could have course have stopped at any round of the betting if a player has bet an amount that no other player is prepared to match.
After all that history you are probably raring to go! All you need now then is to know what actions you will need for each round of betting:
• CALL – Unless you are the ‘big blind’ you will need to make an initial call to feature in that hand. Calling simply means matching any stake which is already on the table.
• FOLD – Folding means your hand just isn’t up to scratch and you want out of there now! The pot no longer interests you as you can no longer win it. Yet patience is the name of the game in poker and this is the action you need to learn more than any other!
• BET – If there is no stake on the table and you think your luck is in then this is where you bet. Thus any player wishing to continue must match your bet or raise it otherwise that pot is all yours!
• RAISE – If you think you have the best hand or you simply fancy a bluff you may like to raise, this could either scare off your opponents or build up the pot nicely.
• CHECK – This is another action you should and will use often. Checking can give you the opportunity of seeing the next card for free, thus giving you the chance to improve your hand.
Rules for poker games may at first seem daunting, yet when poker is taken back to its purest form, that of the simple “5 card stud” game and then built on, not only does the development of poker become apparent, the rules for poker games become much clearer. With that in mind why don’t you give it a shot and impress your friends with your new found knowledge. Make sure you look out for upcoming articles which will go into the “Omaha” and “7 card Stud” versions in more detail. Until then happy poker playing!
Article written by Victoria Fell, June 2009.
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