Poker

Poker Games

Poker is a family of card games that more or less share the same rules with slight differences. The basic difference of the various poker games is the way cards are dealt. In most modern poker games or online poker games the first round of bets starts off with a shape of forced bets. Each and every poker player can either match the bet, raise the bet or increase the bet.

One particular betting round ends when all players have matched the last bet or folded. If all players besides one fold on one round; the remaining player collects the pot without having to show his hand. If there is more than one player(s) still in after the final betting round, hands are shown and the winning hand will take away the pot.

This is what makes poker different from other poker games and that’s what categorizes it to not be 100% gambling. There is a minor exception of initial forced bets which means that money is placed in the pot at each individual’s good will. Although the outcome of any poker hand relies on luck the long run outcome of the games is clearly dependant to the game pattern of the player and his psychology.

Variations of Poker Games

Poker comes in different variations, all following a similar philosophy and a similar pattern in general. There is a hand raking hierarchy which is the base of the game, that from where everything begins to follow a certain pattern.

Straight: When an all around complete hand is dealt to each player and players in return bet in one round with raising; and re-raising permitted. This is considered to be the oldest variations of all the games and it is also known as Primero. A game that evolved during the American Revultionary War as a primary gentleman’s game.
Stud: On a Stud game cards are dealt in a preorganized philosophy of face-down and face-up rounds or “streets”, with a round of betting following each. Stud is the next oldest family of all the poker games; As poker has changed over time and it has evolved to be one of the most ever changing card game Stud changed from three to five card hands, dealt either face-down or face-up, with a betting round between each. The most popular of all the stud variants today, Seven-card stud, deals two extra cards to each player (three facedown, four faceup) from which they must make the best possible 5-card hand.
Draw: A complete hand is dealt to each and every poker player, face-down. After betting, poker players are allowed to try to change their hand (with the object of improving it) by dumping unwanted cards and being dealt new ones. Five-card draw is the most famous variation in this family.
Community: This is a clear variation of Stud. Poker players are dealt an incomplete hand of face-down cards, and then a number of face-up - community cards are dealt to the center of the table, of which each card can be used by one or more of the poker players to make a 5-card hand. Texas hold-em and Omaha are two well-known variants of the Community family.
Video Poker: Other poker games that use poker hand rankings may likewise be referred to as “poker” games. Video poker is one of them; the game itself is a single-player computer game that operates much like a slot machine; most video poker machines play draw poker, where the player bets, a hand is dealt, and the player can discard and replace cards. Payout is dependent on the hand resulting after the draw and the player’s initial bet.
Strip poker: This is really a traditional poker game variation where players remove clothing when they lose bets. Since it really depends only on the basic mechanic of betting in rounds, strip poker can be played with any form of poker; however, it is usually based on simple variants with few betting rounds, like five card draw.