Poker is a game of skill, strategy and chance that animates the living rooms of many households. From casual parties to casino tables, poker is a form of boundless entertainment for everyone.
It increases your cognitive power, sharpens your probability and statistics calculation, and gives you an insight into psychology. With its multipronged benefits and dazzling opportunities to win big, poker remains an all-time favorite among all players.
With the advent of igaming, poker is now available online as well raising the excitement and fun levels for all. Now, you can play your favorite game anytime and anywhere on your smartphone.
With high-tech graphics and top-quality services, online casinos are taking over the igaming world with the speed of fire. Fans and seasoned players alike love to engage on these online platforms for the plenty of benefits they provide to them.
The house edge on online casinos is usually lower than the offline casinos, therefore, they give better winning odds. What’s more? From an easy-to-use user interface to multiple payment options, each online casino wants to give its customers the best service in this highly competitive market.
Poker Rules 101
The game of poker involves trying to win the pot by creating the strongest poker hand over multiple streets. It starts with the pre-flop round where two players make the big and the small blind.
Once these compulsory contributions to the pot are made, two face-down cards are dealt to all players in the game. This is called the pre-flop round.
After these face-down cards are dealt, every player gets the opportunity to call, raise or fold.
Call, raise and fold along with check are the four main actions in the game of poker. These actions play a pivotal role in deciding the outcome of the game. You can take these actions in combination with bluffing and make dynamic strategic moves.
By call, we mean the action of matching up to the previous wager amount.
raise, we mean the action of not only matching up but also adding on to the previous wager amount.
By fold, we mean giving up the hand and in turn your share in the equity.
By check, we mean passing the bet to the other player without taking any action. This action can only be performed at the beginning of the round when no previous bet has been placed.
Once a bet is placed, you cannot check in the same round.
The Number of Rounds in Poker
In general, there are five streets or rounds in poker.
Pre-flop
Flop
Post flop
Turn
River
As mentioned, following the pre-flop stage, players advance to the flop round, where three community cards are dealt face-up on the table for all players to observe. Players have to make an estimation about the strength of their hand in combination with the cards spread on the table.
Once the flop round ends, players proceed to the post-flop stage, where they make decisions and take actions such as calling, raising, or folding
The fourth round also called the Turn is when the dealer burns one card from the deck and adds a fourth card to the three community cards spread on the table. Once again, betting is done.
The fifth and final street called the River is when the fifth community card is dealt face-up on the table. In this round, the final action takes place and ultimately the showdown happens.
In the showdown, the players show their hands and the player with the strongest hand wins the pot.
The Poker Hands
There are a total of ten poker hands ranking from the strongest to the weakest. Each of these poker hands has a particular combination of cards.
The players have to try and make the strongest poker hands with the cards available to them.
The Art of Bluffing in Poker
Bluffing is the most interesting and most important part of the game. The entire game is based on how cleverly you are able to hide the real strength of your hand and force other players into folding.
When you have a weak hand but make a raise, other players are forced into thinking that you do have a strong hand indeed and thus fold their own hands. This can only happen when you have a correct estimation of the possibility of converting your weak hand into a strong one and also assess other players’ hands in relation to the total equity.
Additionally, your ability to act and play with other players’ psychology and read their body language also holds the key to how well you bluff.
To Conclude
Poker is a game of immense fun and action. It is one of the few games in casino gaming that are not based entirely on luck and utilise strategic planning and calculation to win the pot. It is dependent on the decisions and moment-to-moment actions of the players.
So keep playing and keep raising!
Please read the terms and conditions of the online casino carefully and wager responsibly in igaming.
