POKER GENERIC
Poker is known to be a betting game of cards where people ordinarily sit around and play with a deck. In poker, players bet against each other as per the value of cards in their poker hand. Bets are generally made with plastic discs known as chips but bets may also be done with real money. As the game of poker turns towards its end, players can either barter their chips for money, or the chips are calculated to settle the winners.
We might know Poker as a modern game but in reality, it is older than we really think it is.
- History
If the history of Poker is to be traced, As early as in the sixteenth century, Germans played a bluffing game termed "Pochen." It succeedingly evolved into its French version known as "Poque". Attaining till the 1830s, this game was improved further and fitted to be known as Poker. During the Civil War, this game of cards gained momentum, where the key rule was all about drawing cards to improve one's hand.
During the early 19th century in the United States, as those were known to be the earliest beginnings, Poker grew to become an extremely popular pastime worldwide. In 1937, the game of poker, that was first played in the United States had the outline of giving five cards to each player from a twenty-card pack. Advancements in the 1970s led to poker becoming far more popular than it was before. Modern tournament play that we have been habitually seeing became famous in American casinos after the World Series of Poker began, in 1970.
- How it is Played?
Poker is played from a usual pack of 52 cards. The cards are ranked customarily from High to Low in the order: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. Now here, an ace can also be low ranked but is usually high. There are four suits namely spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs yet, no suit is higher than another. All poker hands that usually contain five cards, the highest among the cards in hand wins.
Some games also have Wild Cards, that can take on whatever suit and rank their owner desires. Seldom jokers will be used as wild cards, other times, the game specifies which card would be are wild.
Poker is, in fact, a betting game. In most games, you must 'ante' something, just to get the dealt cards. Following which, players risk as in bet into the game in the middle. As the game ends and it commences towards the conclusion of the hand, the highest hand wins.
- Modifications
Poker varieties are played where a "high hand" or a "low hand" may be the best-solicited hand. Meaning, when playing a poker variant with "low poker" the best hand is one that holds the lowest cards. So while most of the poker game variations are played with "high hand”, where the best leading "straight, flush etc." wins, there are poker varieties. Poker has many variations where all of them follow an alike pattern of play and usually use the same hand ranking authority. There are four main groups of variants, largely classified by the protocol of card-dealing and betting:
Straight
A complete hand is dealt with each player, and players bet in the first round, with raising and re-raising the bet being allowed. Straight hands of five cards are infrequently used as a final showdown, but poker is nearly always played in a more complicated form to allow for additional strategy.
Stud poker
Cards are dealt with in an already arranged sequence of face-down and face-up rounds, or streets, with a round of betting following each. This belongs to next-oldest family. As poker advanced from three to five-card hands, they were often dealt one card at a time, either face-down or face-up, with a betting round in between each. The most familiar stud variant today, the seven-card stud, deals two extra cards to each player from which they must make the best feasible 5-card hand.
Draw poker
A complete hand is dealt with each player, face-down, and after betting, players are permitted to endeavour to change their hand by rejecting unwanted cards and being dealt with the new ones. Five-card draw is the most famous variety in this group.
Community card poker
Identified as "flop poker", community card poker is a modification of stud poker. Players are dealt an unfinished hand of face-down cards, and then a particular number of face-up community cards are dealt with the in the middle of the table, each of which can be practised by one or more of the players to make a 5-card hand. Texas hold 'em and Omaha are two famous variants of the community card group.
- Poker Online
Online poker is generally the conventional card game of poker which is actually played across the various gaming platforms available on the internet. There is a vast heterogeneity of different online poker games sites that offer several varieties of poker with a wide array of games and stakes available. One can also simply play poker online for free on such sites.
The rules of online poker games are pretty much alike whether a person is playing a real poker game in person or up against other players online. Except for Online poker usually witnesses to be faster, is available with minor risks as you get to play for smaller amounts as well and is more accessible.
