Poker is game of cards. It is most admired of the categories of games called vying games.
and its variants.
How To Play Poker - History
Poker has a French-American origin. It was first played in New Orleans a French territory. The present game of poker has influence of many ancient games like, Persian game as nas and French game brelan.
Joseph Crowell stated that the game was first played in 1929 in New Orleans. It was played with a deck of 20 cards with four players betting on which player have the best hand. In the book An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling Jonathan H. Green illustrated the spread of the game from New Orleans to rest of the country by Mississippi Riverboat where gambling was favourite leisure.
How To Play Poker - Rules
Hundreds of variants of poker are available and most of these have same pattern of play.
Players take turns to deal which is indicated by a button or buck. Although in casinos dealer takes care of dealing but still button is rotated among the players to ascertain the order of betting.
One or more players are required to make Forced Bets to generate opening wager for which other players will vie. The cards are shuffled by dealer, and he or some other player cuts them. Then right numbers of cards are dealt to the players one card at one time.
After dealing the rounds of betting begins. Between the betting rounds players often replace formerly dealt cards or deal additional cards. Later all the bets are collected in a central pot.
During the betting rounds, players are required to either match the bet of the opponent or to give up their cards and surrender their interest in central pot. When a player bets but no one chooses to match the bet, the deal ends straight away. The bettor wins the pot, there is no need to do showdown. To win a pot without showdown requires the skill of Bluffing. Bluffing is the basic quality of Poker which differentiates it from other vying game. At the closing round if more then one player is left then a showdown occurs. In which players disclose their formerly concealed cards and calculate their hands, the player with best hand according to the poker variation that is being played wins the pot.
Some Categories of Poker
To know how to play poker one also needs to know the different variation of poker. The different variants of poker are grouped as;
Draw Poker: In these a player is dealt with full hand. All the cards are hidden. The player improves the hand by substituting cards. The most popular of them is Five-card draw.
Stud Poker: In these games a player gets amalgamation of some face-up cards and some face-down cards in various betting round. Most popular is Seven card stud.
Community poker cads: Here the players unite their individual cards with community cards which are dealt face up and are shared by all the players. Most popular of community card poker are Texas Hold?em and Omaha Hold?em.
How to play poker - Jargon
Betting: Staking of money.
Bluffing: it is to bet or to raise with a mediocre hand with expectation that all the other player will give up.
Button: It is an indicator of the player who deal the cards.
Cut: after shuffling dealer ask other player to separate a portion of cards from the deck and either place them either on top or bottom of remaining cards.
Dealer: One who distribute cards
Match the bet: to put amount equal to the amount of bet.
Pot: Pot refers to total money that players bet during a game.
Shuffling: this is the process of randomizing the deck of playing cards.
Showdown: The remaining players disclose their cards and calculate their hands. The player with best hand wins.
How to play poker - Poker Strategy
Poker is a game that needs a blend of strategy and luck for success. It revolves around complex mathematical calculations that leave even the seasoned players clueless. You need to play with undependable information and deception. Conservative intelligent decision-making and risk management are the key to success in poker.
You can never have perfect information at poker if you follow the rules properly. You cannot see what cards your opponents have. All you can do is to make intelligent guesses. If you are on the look out for a poker strategy, remember that there is no common success strategy for it. Otherwise, all players would have used it and made big money.
A player needs to devise and customize his own poker strategy. You need to have a look at your objectives and conditions to decide your approach to the game. You need to consider several factors before getting down to playing. These include - how good you are as a player, what game you prefer, how much of money you are going to bet, whether you want to play for money or just fun.
The primary strategy for poker is to have the right mindset. You need to have a positive attitude if you want to succeed in poker. This attitude will enable you put the necessary efforts to earn money.
While playing poker, play the high pairs and the strong hands before the flop. It will help you do away with the weak and garbage hands. When you get a straight, do not draw to the low-end or both ends. Remember that unconnected low and medium cards are generally unplayable. Suited cards that cannot flop a straight fall in that category.
Be very cautious while playing the starting low pairs from 66 to 22. You should usually fold if you do not flop a set. Be aggressive when you have a two-way draw after the flop. Bet/raise your hand if you can make a straight and a flush or trips. It is better to bet two high over cards or an Ace after a garbage flop, but fold if someone raises. Uniform flops such as 8, 7, 6 can easily turn into straights. It might overtake your good hand or high pair. If you face suited flops forming a completed flush, hold the nut in that suit or have two pair or trips to fill up.
To keep variation in your play and avoid being predictable, use caught bluffing sometimes. You can even win pots that you do not deserve if your bluff works.
Many players get down to playing without even developing an understanding of the basic rules of the game. This blunder could leave you in serious trouble. Therefore, make it a strategy to develop a clear understanding of the basics.
It is important to have a money management plan before you start playing. Plan about how much of money you will bet and how much of money you are willing to lose. Quit the game before you cross your limit. Chasing the losses could be dangerous for you.
Besides concentrating on own game, it is also important to keep an eye on your opponents. Remember that this is a game of mind. You need to beat your opponents mentally to stay on course.