Online Poker Rules

1: History of Poker
Poker is one of the most popular card games in the world. Although
it is widely thought of as an American game, the exact origin is
unknown. An early form of poker can be traced back to 16th-Century
Persia. Poker is an intriguing game that requires skill, luck and
psychology. The object of any poker game is to win the pot.
Bluffing and betting are key aspects. The game of poker has
endured the test of time and continues to fascinate newcomers.

2: Table Poker
There are few different variations of a Table Poker, most known are Draw Poker, 7-Stud, 6-Stud, Caribbean and Deuces Wild.

The objective of poker is to win the pot, which is the money that accumulates as players who remain in the game keep raising their bets. Unless a game of high/low poker is being played, the player with the highest hand at the end of the game wins the pot. There are two ways to win, by holding the highest hand in the game, or by making your opponents think you've got the highest hand-in which everyone else folds leaving you to win the pot.

Poker games start with a shuffle and cut of the deck and then the players ante before the dealer deals a card. To ante, each player is required to put a small amount of money, usually a percentage of the minimum bet, into the pot. Games are played with colored poker chips that correspond to different denominations of money. The dealer is responsible for dealing each round.

Strict rules govern the betting order, which also varies with the type of poker game played. The betting order is important because the player who bets first has the disadvantage of providing other players with information about their hand before receiving any information about any other player's hand. The player who bets last has the advantage of seeing how everyone else bets before deciding whether or not to play their hand. In most games the dealer deals clockwise, starting with the player to the dealer's left.

There are different numbers of betting rounds in different poker games. During each round, betting moves clockwise around the table and players can either check, call, raise, or fold. When you check that means you want to stay in the game, but don't want to bet. When you check, you forfeit the right to raise in the current round unless "check and raise" is allowed in your game. After someone makes the first bet, all other players can only call, raise or fold. When you call, you match the most recent bet and place the appropriate stack of chips in front of you for the dealer to place in the pot. Another option is to raise the amount of the bet by matching the previous bet and raising the amount by an additional amount. After the bet has been raised, all other players remaining in the pot must call with the higher amount of chips, or fold. In many poker games, the bet can be raised only three times in the same betting round. When you don't think that your hand is good enough to win and don't feel like bluffing, you can fold or drop out of the hand. Depending upon the game, there might be several rounds of betting, with a card or cards dealt between the rounds.

When two or more players remain in the game at the end of the last round of betting, each of the players show their cards in a showdown. The hand with the highest poker value wins the pot. The house makes a profit by taking the rake, a percentage of each pot. The rake percentage varies from two to 10 percent, but in some cases there is a maximum dollar amount or a flat fee.

There are two different types of poker games: draw poker and stud poker. In draw poker you can draw new cards from the deck after the initial cards are dealt, your cards are usually dealt face down, and you bet after receiving your initial cards and after you draw new cards. In stud poker games, you play with your initially dealt cards, some cards are face down and some are face up, and you bet after each new face up card is dealt and after the last face down card is dealt.

Both of these types of games can involve either five cards or seven, and can be played in one of two ways: high or high/low. When a poker game is played high, the highest hand wins the pot. When a poker game is played high/low, the pot is split between the person with the highest hand and the person with the lowest hand.

3: Video Poker
Video Poker is a variation based on the classic Table Poker game. Here you play against the machine instead of the Opponents, in Table Poker. The cards dealt by a close relative of a Slot Machine.

After betting 1$-5$, the cards turned around, and you can decide which cards to hold.

Other cards are being replaced, and the final combination is used to calculate your payoff.
4: Card Combinations
When two of your cards are of the same kind, and higher than Jacks, it is called a "Pair", when you have two pairs (e.g. two 7's and two 3's) it is called "Two Pairs", when you have three cards of the same Kind, it's "Three of a Kind" etc.

The Combinations are :

Pair (Better than Jacks)

Two Pairs (any cards)

Three of a Kind (any cards)

Straight (5 cards in an ascending order, e.g. 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , J)

Flush (5 cards of the same suit)

Full House (Three of a Kind and a Pair)

Four of a Kind

Straight Flush (5 cards in an ascending order, of the same suit)

Royal Flush (10, J, Q, K, A of the same suit)

Note that Ace can be high or low in a Straight (e.g. A, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10, J, Q, K, A) but may not wrap around (e.g. J, Q, K, A, 2 is not a Straight).

5: Betting
The payoff of every Hand is determined by the size of your bet. For example, if you have a Straight, and your bet was 2$, you'll get 8$, and if it was 5$ you'll get 20$.
6: Tips on playing the game
This game is less based on pure luck than most others Casino games, what matters is the decision which cards to hold, and which to replace. This subject is not for a short discussion, books have been written about it, but there are few simple advices that still can be useful.

If you have no combination , don't replace all the cards, hold one card which is Jack or higher (if there is).

If you have a pair lower than Jacks, and one card, Jack or higher, you might want to release the pair (though it increases your chance to get two pairs if you hold it) and hold the High card.

Don't replace a Pair for the chance to get a Straight (e.g. if you have 10, J, J, K, A better hold the Jacks rather than holding the rest, and disposing a Jack, hoping to et the Queen.

These can continue on and on, and anyway they are nothing but a personal opinion based on some math and practice. The best advice you can get, is some good luck.

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