Poker

What is "poker"?

Poker is the All-American game. You could go all the way back to the frontier days of Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, and they were playing poker. Poker's been played in saloons. Poker's played, perhaps, on your kitchen table. Poker is a game where people compete against each other using cards to make decisions. There are various types of poker games too. There's 7 card stud, which at one time was the most popular poker game in the country. There's 5 card draw poker, where you get 5 cards and you decide if you want to get rid of a couple, 3, 4 and take new cards. And then there is now, the most popular poker game in all the country, and perhaps even overseas, Texas Hold 'Em. And most of the poker tournaments you see now are Texas Hold 'Em poker tournaments. And indeed, of all the poker games, that's my favorite.

What are the basic poker hands from weakest to strongest?

The basic poker hands, from weakest to strongest are: the highest card, followed by a pair, then two pair, then three-of-a-kind, then a straight, then a flush, then a full-house (three-of-a-kind and a pair), then a straight flush, and, finally, a royal flush.

What is the difference between "stud" and "draw" poker?

A "stud" game has certain cards that are shown to everybody else, and you play with more than five cards, making the best five card hand. In a "draw" game, no one else sees your cards, no one else shares your cards, and you have the option to draw more or discard cards. The defining characteristic of a "stud" game is that all of the players can see certain cards.

What is an "ante"?

In a draw poker game everybody in the game has to put up an initial bet. That's called the ante, you can't play without an ante.

What are the "stakes"?

In poker, the stakes are the amount of money, either you're allowed to bet, the minimum you're allowed to bet, the maximum you're allowed to bet, the amount of money in the pot. These are the stakes. In short, stakes are the money, and that's what you're playing for.

What does "no limit" mean?

In a "no limit" game, you can bet as much as you want, and you can challenge another player by going "all in" with all your money. In poker, "no limit" means exactly that, there are no limits imposed on betting.

What does it mean to "raise" and when should I do it?

There are lots of choices to make in poker: A good poker player is always considering whether or not his should discard his hand, "raise" another player's bet or "call" another player. If you think you have a winning hand, then you would never call and you would never fold; a possible winning hand suggests you should "raise" the other player.

What does it mean to "call" and when should I do it?

The game is at the end. There's you, there's him, there's her. The bets have been made. A final bet has been made, and you're going to call it by putting in the same amount of money. What you're saying to the other player when you call is, "Show me your hand." Oh, and you have to show your hand too.

What is the basic order of game play in poker?

Poker has a basic order of play. In draw poker you put up an ante. That means everybody puts in a small bet in order to start the game. Then the cards are dealt. In certain stud poker games, first in order of play, individual players put up what are called blinds. That begins the game there. Then the dealer deals the card. The player has an opportunity to raise his bet, or to fold his hand. He doesn't want to continue if he doesn't think he can win. The player also has the opportunity to call another player. And by the end of a round, a determination is made as to who has the highest hand, and who wins the money.