Poker – An Overview

Card games have existed for a very long time and indeed poker itself has been around for a very long time. From the first five card draw games that have been played for decades all over the world to the Texas and Omaha Hold ‘Em variants that are now dominating the world poker scene, there is a lot that people have been able to accomplish through their playing of poker. Even now, after the poker boom has hit its peak in the world, poker continues to be something that is enjoyed worldwide by different people of all ages and stripes. This article discusses some of the more general points of the game and is meant to be taken as an overview.

Variants

There are a number of different poker variants and while it would take more than one article to cover each one that has ever been played, there are a number of different popular ones that can each be discussed briefly.

The oldest poker variant and the one that still survives today is five card draw. In this poker game, each player is dealt five cards and then gets one chance to exchange as many of those five cards as they want for replacement cards. This is referred to as the draw and at the end of the draw, the player with the best five card hand wins.

The most popular poker variant today is Texas Hold ‘Em. This is a poker variant whereby people are each dealt two cards and over the course of the game, five community cards are dealt face up in the center of the board. The winning hand goes to the player that can make the best five card poker hand from the two they have and the five common cards.

Another popular variant of poker is Omaha, which has the same rules as Texas Hold ‘Em with a few differences. In Omaha, you are dealt four cards instead of two and in your five card hand you must use two cards from your four and three cards from the board of five community cards.

Hand Values

Of course, while it’s all well and good to let people know that the best hand wins, there are of course going to be people that don’t know the poker hand rankings. So, for those of you that need to know, here they are in descending order.

Royal Flush: A straight flush 10-J-Q-K-A

Straight Flush: Five cards that are connected sequentially and all of the same suit

Four of a Kind: Having all four cards of the same rank in your hand

Full House: Three of a kind plus a pair

Flush: Having five cards of the same suit

Straight: Having five cards that are connected sequentially, regardless of suit

Three of a Kind: Having three cards of the same rank in your hand

Two Pair: Having two pairs of cards in your hand

Pair: Having two cards of the same rank in your hand

High Card: If you have none of these hands, the highest ranking card in your hand determines its value

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