The Game of Poker
The game which seems to have suddenly taken the world by storm!
Traditionally, Stud Poker has been the game played at UK Casinos and for officianados we are happy to offer the game as part of our repetoire.
However, there’s no denying that as soon as anyone mentions poker these days it’s inevitably the Texas Hold ‘Em variant that gets people in a spin. It’s a phenominally popular game both on the internet and casinos all over the country are trying to figure out ways to increase their floorspace to accomodate the incredible demand for the game.
And it’s not hard to see why it’s such a popular game. Easy to understand and learn, the game relies as much (if not more) on knowing and understanding your opponents as it does on the cards you hold.
Each player receives 2 face down cards known as ‘hole’ cards. Only you know what cards you are holding. Every player then decides to bet on their cards depending on their strength and on what they think the other players are likely to do. After the betting is complete 3 cards are turned over in the middle of the table. This is referred to as the ‘flop’. Remaining players then continue to bet until a 4th card is turned over (the turn card). Another round of betting then takes place until the 5th and final ‘River’ card is displayed. Further betting then follows until the showdown where, if there is still more than 1 player left all cards are revealed and the best hand wins all the chips that have been bet in the hand (the ‘pot’).
Forced bets known as blinds keeps the action rolling and basically makes players put their chips in at the beginning of each hand.
You only ever have 4 choices to make in Hold ‘Em:-
- FOLD Get rid of your cards and take no further part in the hand.
- CALL Place the minimum bet to stay in the hand.
- CHECK Staying in the hand but not placing a higher bet.
- RAISE Placing a bet and forcing the other players to do one of the above options.
If you have nerves of steel, a cool head and you can tell a lot about people just by looking and maybe having a chat with them then you’re well on the way to becoming a poker player!
