What is Poker?

Securing the POT which has bets made by several players during the hand is the main objective of playing poker. Every player wagers a bet hoping that he has the best hand or at least to give the impression that he holds a sturdy hand and hence convince his adversaries to fold (which means to abandon) their hands. The top combination of five cards is considered to be the best hand in most poker games. It is important to know when to release a hand that seems to be beaten just as importantly as when to bet.

Number of Players

Usually two to ten players play poker, although it need not be confined to that. Typically sevencard games like Razz or Stud poker is played with eight players while nine to ten players play in Texas Hold’em. 

A standard 52-card deck is usually used for most forms of poker although a joker may be added to the deck for poker like Lowball.

Although no one will stop you from playing poker with coins or seeds at home, nothing feels the way real poker chips feel. Nowadays, there are poker sets available which has the feel of real poker chips, giving the players a sense of playing in Vegas! Chips are available in various colours and designs. However, the colours usually follow a set of conventional dollar values:

$1= White

$5= Red

$25= Green

$100= Black

$500= Purple, Violet or Lavender

Below is a list of the amount of chips that will be needed depending on the number of players:

For 3 to 4 players= 300 chips

For 5 to 6 players= 400 chips

For 7 to 8 players= 500 chips

For large games= 1000 chips

As I have said earlier, the aim of playing poker is winning the pot, which means the money or chips wagered during the play of each round (hand) of poker. A hand also refers to the 5 cards in the tenure of a player.

There are two ways to win a hand:

You show down (reveal) the best hand at the end of all the betting rounds. When two or more players are still active after all the betting rounds are done, they all turn their hands face up. The winnings goes to the player who holds the highest hand during this showdown.

All your opponents fold their hands. Folding a hand means that a player surrenders his/her claim to the pot by not matching an opponent's bet.

Now you may have been bluffing or you actually had the best hand – it matters not. When your opponents surrender their claim to the pot, it automatically becomes yours.

In Lowball and Razz, the best hand is a low hand for example: 54-3-2-A (known as a wheel or bicycle) is the best low hand while the second best is 64-3-2-A. on the other hand, in games like Seven-Card Stud and Texas Hold’em, the best hand is a high hand.

There are split-pot games where two winners split the winnings, for e.g. High-Low Split in Seven-Card Stud. However, there will always be a high hand in split-pot games but there would not necessarily be a low hand. In situations where there is no low hand, the high hand wins it all.

Almost all games require ante or blind bets. If the game is played using antes then every player must put in a token amount of money in order for them to receive their cards. In cases of blinds, one or two competitors are needed to make a bet or portion of a bet before the hand is dealt. As the game proceeds, this requirement rotates around the table so that all the players pay their fair share of money.

Every time a round of cards is dealt, players have the chance to check fold, bet, call or raise.  If a player decides to forfeit his interest in the pot, he has the right to release his hand when it is his turn and therefore, he is no longer required to place any more money in the pot. If a player raises or bets and no one calls, the pot belongs to that player, the cards are collected and shuffled, and the next hand is dealt. If there are at least two or more players still playing at the end of the hand, the best hand wins the pot.

In games like Seven-Card Stud and Texas Hold’em the highest ranking hand wins. They are played with a 52-card deck, there is no joker, composed of four suits: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. Every suit is equal in value and there are 13 ranks in every suit. In the hierarchy, ace is at the top, followed by king, queen, jack and 10 through 2 (or deuce). However, an ace may also be used as the lowest ranking card in a 5-high straight (5-4-3-2-A).

Although these games are played with seven cards, the best hand means to have the best five-card hand. It needs to be remembered that the rarer the hand, the more valuable it is.

Royal and Straight flush:

A royal flush is an ace-high straight flush and the best hand in poker. There are only four of them all consisting of this set: A, K, Q, J and 10 (whether it be spades, hearts, diamonds or/and clubs).

A straight flush is having five cards of the same suit in sequence, like 9, 8,7,6,5.

Four of a kind:

Quads or four-of-a-kind, is a five-card hand consisting of all the cars of one rank, plus one unrelated card, for example:J♥J(spade)J♦J♣5♣. The higher the rank, the better the hand, for e.g. four kings outranks and hence, beats four jacks.

Full house:

Three cards of the same rank and a pair of another make a full house. The rank is determined by the three-card grouping and not the pair.

Poker Etiquettes:

Act in your turn:

Each player is supposed to act in his turn as the game proceeds clockwise around the table. In poker it is considered polite to wait for ones turn.

Keep your cards in plain sight:

Integrity of the game is maintained by keeping the players’ cards on the table during the play of the hand.

 Avoid discussing hands in play:

Discussing your hand with others, even if you have forfeited, may provide information that would give another player an unfair advantage. Discuss a hand after the hand is concluded.

Good luck!