by Sammie Lam

Created on: July 27, 2010

Poker is a mentally stimulating card game that is gaining more and more popularity these days.  Although it is a legitimate game and even considered a sport now, poker used to have a reputation of being an underground game being played only by hard and notorious men.

Poker may look intimidating especially to those who is fascinated by it but do not know how to play.  The high stakes associated with poker also plays a big role in giving the impression that poker is a complicated game.  However, once the basics are mastered, one can easily learn the high ropes through continuous practice and exposure.

Playing the Game

The game is started with the dealer distributing the cards to the players in a clockwise order.  The players have four options to deal with the game.  One is to check, that is to bet nothing but remain in the game; to call or to bet the same amount of bet as the previous player; to raise or increase the amount of the previous bet; and to fold or giving up your Hand.

To Win the Pot

To win the pot, that is the objective of the game.  There are a couple of ways to do this.  One is to have the highest ranking hands, and the other is by bluffing your way into making the other players believe you have the best cards therefore folding.

The Hand ranking is the ranking of the values of the players’ card at hand.  This determines who wins the game.  Here is the list of Hands from the highest value:

Royal Flush                   – any five cards of the same suit.

Straight Flush              – five consecutive cards of the same suit.

Four of a kind               – four cards of the same kind.

Full house                     – three cards of the same card and a pair.

Flush                              – five cards of the same suit.

Straight                           – five consecutive cards of different suits.

Three of a kind              – three of the same kind.

Two pair                          – two pairs of the same kind.

One pair                          – one pair of the same kind.

Card hierarchy, Ace being the highest, followed by King, Queen, Jack then the numbers ten to two will be considered in cases when there is no one with a hand or when two or more players have the same hand.

Bluffing, on the other hand, is a bit harder to master.  They say bluffing is an essential element of poker.  However, bluffing is a skill that should only be used by seasoned players.  This technique does not only involve how well the player carries a stone face but more on how he observe the other players and use information gained from it.

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