Poker - what is it?
The term poker is widespread and known to almost everyone who plays at Microgaming casino. You regularly come across this game in films and on television, as well as in literature and in everyday communication with friends, acquaintances and the environment in general. But few people realize what kind of diversity is behind this.
Poker is one of the most famous and popular card games in the world. First of all, simple basic rules combined with high competitiveness ensure great popularity. With the advent of online casinos and poker rooms in recent years, the spread of poker has increased again. First of all, it is a variation of Texas Hold'em that caused a worldwide sensation with the James Bond movie Casino Royal. But as far as the term poker is known, the different variations and rules are rarely explained in plain language for laymen.
Texas Hold'em Poker - Hand Values
The following list shows the possible combinations of cards and their value, decreasing from top to bottom (with a Royal Flush representing the best hand and one high card representing the worst hand).
- Royal Flush: sequence from 10 to Ace (i.e. 10, J, Q, K, A), all same suit ♥ 10 ♥ Jack ♥ Queen ♥ King ♥ Ace
- Straight flush: five cards in a row of the same suit ♥ 7 ♥ 8 ♥ 9 ♥ 10 ♥ Jack
- Poker / Four of a Kind: four cards of the same rank ♥ Jack ♥ Jack ♥ Jack ♥ Jack ♥ 7
- Full house: three plus a pair ♥ King ♥ King ♥ King ♥ 10 ♥ 10
- Flush: five cards of the same suit ♥ 7 ♥ queen ♥ jack ♥ 8 ♥ ace
- Straight: five cards in a row, regardless of suit ♥ 7 ♠ 8 ♥ 9 ♠ 10 ♥ Jack
- Three of a Kind: three cards of the same rank ♥ 9 ♠ 9 ♥ 9 ♥ 8 ♠ 10.
- Two pairs: two times two cards of the same rank ♥ queen ♠ queen ♥ jack ♠ jack ♥ ace
- Pair: two cards of the same rank ♥ 8 ♠ 8 ♥ queen ♥ jack ♠ king
- High Card: None of the above, the highest card in the hand becomes the “High Card” ♥ 7 ♠ 8 ♥ 9 ♥ Jack ♥ Ace.
Poker Texas Hold'em Strategies
Based on probabilities, two hole cards (also called starting hands) can be combined to form different forces. Depending on the strength, it is necessary to decide whether and how this hand will be played at all.
Starting with the flop, it is very easy to gauge the strength of your hand. Here it is important to think about whether you want and how to get your hand. At the latest at this stage, it is extremely important to be able to put yourself in the shoes of your opponent, so poker is viewed not as a purely random game, but as a tactical game with a strong psychological factor. It should be taken into account what possible starting hands the opponent can actually play in the form in which they were played. Combined with openly transparent community cards, you can gauge how strong your opponent really is. Of course, this also paves the way for one of the most important strategies in poker: bluffing!
When you bluff, you try to imagine your hand as much stronger than it really is. The goal is to make the opponent think that his hand is weaker, and to give up the hand accordingly. This usually requires very high stakes, so there is also a great risk of losing a lot of money right away.
Live & Online Texas Hold'em
Poker can be played almost anywhere in the world, both live in a casino and online in your own poker room. While the software counts and manages its chips online, as well as everyone else in the game, this must be done by you in the real game. In the no-limit variation, it is especially important to always keep track of how much money your opponent has in order to be able to adapt your own strategy to him.
Another big difference between playing online and playing live is the “reading” of your opponent. This refers to the ability to assign the opponent's actions to certain combinations. While only the size of the bets (and, to a lesser extent, the rate at which they are placed) can be considered in an online game (which provides a much more mathematical understanding of the game), the opponent's facial expressions and body language can also be used in a live game. to be learned. Many players tend to act unconsciously in certain situations (such as bluffing), so psychologically strong players and good observers can get a big advantage here.
Other game options
Draw poker
This version is best known for the films about the Wild West. Here, each player is dealt five hole cards. After a round of bets, zero to five cards can also be rearranged face down. After another round of bidding, the winner will be determined. Since there are no open cards in the game, only your own cards and the actions of your opponents can be used for tactical reasons.
Stud Poker
In stud poker, each player is dealt both up and down cards. The most common choice in stud games is the seven-card game, and of course only five can be used to form the best hand. Since there are many more cards known (seven own cards and four cards from each player), much more information can be taken into account, and therefore the strength of individual opponents can be calculated much better.
Omaha
In Omaha, each player is dealt four hole cards. As in Texas Hold'em, five community cards are revealed in three rounds. The big difference here is that exactly two of the private cards and exactly three community cards must be used to form the best hand. In Omaha, you can distinguish between Hi (only the best hand) and Hi-Lo (the best, both worst hands can win).
Other poker options
Several other varieties of poker are now more or less common. Often these are games that can be classified as a wide range of draw poker games. Often the goal is to make the worst possible hand. These options are especially popular with professionals as their thinking needs to be changed significantly and therefore a deeper understanding of the game is required.
