Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Info On The Game Of Poker And The Rules

By Dean Evert

Probably one of the most popular card games in the world and one that has been around for many years, is poker. From the casinos of the world, to the smokey backrooms of neighborhood bars; poker leads the pack in popularity for most people and as a game poker rules can be difficult to learn for the novice player.

Poker is basically a simple game of intense strategy, scrutiny of your fellow players, and psychology. Not to mention having to have a good hand to win the pot of valuables, usually money. The rules for poker are based on a playing structure and the value of the cards themselves and the values of combos of cards that can be created by the players based on the best 5 card combination they can make with what they have been dealt. For the most part, the values of the cards run from the Ace being the highest in value card, to the #2 being the lowest.

Because of its popularity and the fact that we humans cannot just leave anything alone, we have to improvise on it, or change it; the variations of poker around the world are numerous. Just playing with your family around the kitchen table could produce variations such as "Deuces are Wild" or Blackjack Poker, and put a whole new spin on the old tried and true game and poker rules. As far as universal popularity, the top of the list is Texas Hold 'Em, followed by Seven Card Stud and the oldest form of poker known to man, 5 Card Draw.

For the game poker rules must be observed for the betting to move smoothly and the players being able to calculate their moves and someone eventually ending up with the pot. Most poker games are based on the principle of getting the best 5 card combination in your hand that will beat out anyone else's 5 card combination, no matter how you reached that point. The cards are valued from high to low, and the combinations are also valued from high to low such as having four cards of the same number, like four 5's; is valued higher than having five cards of the same suit, as in five hearts. Players must know the values of the card/hand combinations when they sit down to play the game as poker rules can be tricky.

Taking a closer look at the most popular form of poker today, Texas Hold 'Em; we need to cover just how the game is played and poker rules apply. The same premise applies that the best 5 card combo in the final showdown hand will take the pot, but the play is a little different. The play starts with the dealer giving each player 2 cards, called hole cards, face down on the table so no one else can see them. The players bet on what they think they can do with those hole cards. Then the dealer puts down 3 community cards (the flop) face up in the middle of the table for all to see, and all to use those cards with their hole cards to formulate a bet and a strategy. More betting. The dealer deals out another face up card on the table, the turn and with that additional card and what they already have, the players bet again or fold, depending on their holdings. Now the dealer puts out the last face up card on the table, the river and the final bet ensues. Final showdown of hands will show the player with the best 5 card combination using all the cards, his hole cards and the community cards, and win the pot. If another player has an identical hand, the two must split the pot.

On the horizon now is a form of poker that the fellows in the barrooms of yesteryear would have not been able to even comprehend, and that is online poker on the Internet. Because we live such harried lives for the most part, and don't have the chance to get out to a real honest-to-goodness poker game around a table; a goodly amount of poker players opt to get their poker fix online. A good site for that is called PKR.com and it runs the gamut of all kinds of game poker, the rules, the play, the betting; anything you need to know about playing the game. The site ranges from teaching the simplest of plays and has games going 24/7 that are beginner games where you can sit down and play with no money out of your pocket; to the most intense, difficult and challenging forms of poker games for seasoned players who have money to spend and want to play with a real pot, not a virtual one.

Because of its structure and its the way its played with all the intense strategy and psychology thrown into the mix; poker is the most beloved card game the world over, and deservedly so. The possibility of winning a lot of money is there for the big players and the well-heeled of the world, and so is the fun of winning a pot full of pennies by the old guys on the street corner playing for fun. Poker has many faces and has been added to and molded into all kinds of wild concoctions; but when it comes to the basics and you want to play the game that has not changed for eons, poker rules.

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