Originally played by two people with a deck of cards, poker is now a multi-player game that is played online. The game can be played for real money or for fun, and involves a fair bit of skill, and some luck. The game is often accompanied by broadcasts of poker tournaments on cable and satellite TV, bringing large audiences to the table.
In a nutshell, you have five cards in your hand that you use to create your best possible hand. The trick is to hold a variety of suits, so that you can get the best possible hand when the flop hits your way. The best possible hand for this scenario is a trip 7s, which you would need to achieve with the right combination of cards on the turn and river. You can do this by holding two pocket cards that you can draw to, and hitting a three on the turn or a six on the river.
A new flop is dealt without burning a card. This flop is the big one and is the one to watch out for. A redealt flop occurs when a player prematurely flops his cards, before the betting round is complete. If this happens to you, you can discard the cards and still play.
The “odds of success” are a bit higher if you hit your cards on the turn and river, but you are still likely to come out on the short end of the stick. A better bet would be to call the pot. The pot has a chance of being split evenly between the highest hand and the lowest hand.
The best hand is the aforementioned trip sevens, plus a pair of kings, which you can make on the turn or river. You can also win the pot with your ace, if you are able to draw a pair of eights on the turn or river.
The best poker trick is actually the most complicated, involving a series of three betting rounds. The first is the ante, which is a small bet made by all players. This gives the pot a value right away. The second is the “show” round, where the winner of the hand is decided. The third and fourth are called the “streets,” and are used for fixed limit games, where the upper limit is applied to the subsequent rounds. Unlike the ante, the “show” is a very large bet, usually in the hundreds of dollars.
The other best poker trick is the big blind. This is a small bet made by all of the players in the hand. The player to the immediate right of the button shuffles the deck and deals the cards. This is the simplest of the three betting rounds, but the smallest of the big three.
Hopefully, you are now ready to take on your opponents in a hands-on poker game. There are several variations of the game, and you will have to decide which to play. Typically, you will be seated in the first-to-act position.