by Craig Buck

Created on: February 05, 2010   Last Updated: April 01, 2010

Introduction

Poker is one of the fastest growing online games of the 21st century.  The game has been around since the end of the 19th century but its popularity has only really increased since the invention of the internet.  Poker has always been a complicated and elitist game to play, purely because you needed to find a group of people who were willing to play and also, every player needed to know the rules in a high level of detail.  Playing online takes away both of these problems.  No matter which poker site you decide to join, there will always be thousands of other players vying for your hard earned chips.  The specific sites client software will also take care of all the rules, leaving you free to enjoy your poker experience.

Poker Buzz Words

As with most games and pastimes, there is some terminology in poker that, once understood will enhance your enjoyment of the game.  I am going to keep these buzz words down to an absolute minimum and just concentrate on the major ones otherwise you will lose the will to live.  I feel that by getting an understanding of what these words mean, will make this review easier to follow.

Check – Checking allows you to stay in the hand without committing any more chips to the pot.  You can only do this if nobody else has made a bet.  Checking is not necessarily a sign of a weak hand, you could be laying a trap in order to make another player think they have a strong hand.

Call – If another player has made a bet, you can opt to match their wager.  This is known as calling.  I use this type of bet when I think I have a decent hand but I’m not confident enough to increase the bet.

Raise – This type of bet increases the amount another player has to commit to the pot in order to stay in the game.  A lot of players make the mistake of raising early with a high quality hand which scares off other players, meaning a smaller pot than you could have had by calling or checking.  If you want to make other players believe you have a strong hand, the raise is a vital part of the bluffers armour.

Pocket cards – These are the initial cards you are dealt that nobody else sees.  You have to decide just from looking at these cards whether you want to pay to stay in the game or fold your cards.  In my opinion, strong pocket cards can be a pair from jack up to ace, an ace with any other picture card or 2 high cards of the same suit. 

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