While the selection varies from poker room to poker room, almost all support texas holdem, 7 card stud, and omaha and several variations. See the chart here for specific games supported by the each poker room.
Here is a list of the Variations we have seen online.
Without question the most popular game, online and worldwide, is No Limit Texas Holdem. Most of the major poker tournaments in the world are No Limit Texas Holdem. Most of the poker shows on tv and cable focus on texas holdem.
Often called the 'Chess of Poker', It has swept both the United States and the world, becoming the most popular form of poker ever.
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There are ton of new poker rooms popping up all over the place. Make sure you choose a reputable poker room, and begin with a minimum deposit. Make sure you want to play there before you commit a pile of cash. In general, if you stick to the top poker sites you wont have any problems.
A good page reviewing the top poker sites is available Here.
Click Here for a chart comparing the top poker rooms feature by feature.
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Absolutely NOT. Online poker rooms will let you play poker for free forever. There are no limits, you can play as long as you like whenever you like. You can play ring games, Sit N Go's, and Tournaments.
And if you run out of Play Money, They will give you more. You will never be asked for any credit card or payment information unless you want to play for real money.
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Its easy. Just pick a poker room you would like to try, Download and install the software, and create an account for yourself. Thats it. Now just login and play. You will start off with a stack of play money chips, and if you run out, just go to the cashier and get more. Anytime of the day or night, there is always someone to play with.
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Absolutely safe. The last thing the poker rooms want is for you to get viruses or spyware on your computer that prevent you from playing poker. They all take extra care to ensure the downloads are safe, virus and spyware free, and work properly. And if you ever have a problem, their customer service is a phone call away.
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There is no catch. They are hoping that if you find that you like playing poker and find that you are a good player, that you will want to play for real. If you are good you come out ahead, and the poker room comes out ahead because it has another real money player.
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Most online poker rooms have an option to display using a 4 color deck. In a 4 color deck, instead of the hearts and diamonds both being red and the clubs and spades both being black, each suit has its own color. Spades are still black and hearts are still red, but diamonds are blue and clubs are green.
Using a 4 color deck is reccomended by most online poker players, as it seems to reduce eye fatigue, and you are less likely to make a mistake and see a flush that isnt there after hours of playing.
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The Muck refers to the pile of folded and burned card in front of the dealer. To Muck your cards means to discard them without showing them to anyone.
Some online poker rooms have an 'Auto Muck' option that will automatically muck your cards when you fold or lose a hand, some poker rooms give you the choice at the end of the hand to show or muck your cards.
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Absolutely. You can play in ring games, tournaments, sitngo's, virtually any kind of game with any stakes from 1 cent to 1000's of dollars. Just make your first deposit (dont forget your bonus code!) and you are ready to play for real. And who knows, you could even win a seat to next years World Series of Poker. Its happened before!
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Some poker rooms have games with antes and blinds as low as 1 cent! You can literally play anything from nickel and dime poker all the way up to the high stakes games. Single table tournaments and SitnGo's for as little as $1 and as much as $1000! And big multitable tournaments with Big prize pools for as little as $5! No matter what your budget, you can play!
Click Here for a chart showing the minimum deposit and minumum bets for the top poker rooms.
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This is a complex issue and we are not attorneys. Our advice is to consult a family attourney in the jurisdiction in which you plan to play.
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Besides the obvious, that you will be playing with real money, the main difference is that in general the players will be much more conservative, and tend to play better poker.
This doesnt mean there arent any fish playing for real money, it just means they are far less reckless than at the free tables. This is mostly due to the fact that when you are playing with play money you tend to raise and go all in much more often when you know you can just go get more money if you bust out.
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A Bonus Code is basically Free Money For You when you make your first real money deposit at a poker room. Bonus codes range from outright cash bonuses (Get an Extra $25) to Percentage bonuses (get an Extra 20%) to special bonuses (Get a free entry into this tournament). These are incentives for you to join a particular poker room, and they vary and change often. Be sure to shop around and get the best bonus you can find.
Every bonus code has some requirements, usually you have to make a minimum deposit and play a certain number of raked hands to be eligible for the bonus. Be sure to check the site for the specific details.
A good site for the most current bonus codes is Free-Poker-Bonus-Codes.com.
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A Reload Bonus is a bonus code only offered to exisiting real money players as an incentive for them to make another deposit. Reload bonuses are offered to existing players on a semi regular basis by most of the larger poker rooms.
Reload bonus codes have some requirements, usually you have to make a minimum deposit and play a certain number of raked hands to be eligible for the bonus. Be sure to check the site for the specific details.
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The most popular methods for funding your poker account include Neteller, Firepay, IGMPay and other similar online virtual money transfer services, which allow you to fund your virtual account with a wide variety of methods including credit card, online check, and wire transfer, and then fund your poker account from your virtual account.
Check each poker room to verify the types of payment they accept.
Click Here for a chart showing the payment methods for the top poker rooms.
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Many US Banks and credit card issuers have placed restrictions on any transactions which they categorize as gambling or gambling related. You cannot directly fund a poker room or casino account with cards or accounts that have these restrictions. For more information contact your bank or card issuer.
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No, using paypal to fund any gambling or gambling related services is a violation of their Terms Of Service (TOS) and their Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and is strictly prohibited. As a result, no legitimate poker room or casino will accept paypal.
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The Rake is the small percentage of every pot the poker room takes. This is how the poker room makes money. The exact amount of the rake depends on how many players contribute to the pot and the size of the pot.
Every legitimate poker room has its rake schedule posted on their site. In most online poker rooms, as a pot grows, you will see a small chipstack next to the dealer that represents the rake.
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Cashing out your winnings is usually very easy. While every poker room supports different cashout options, in general you can choose to have your winnings wired to your bank account, paid out to a virtual account like Neteller or Firepay, or have a check issued and mailed to you. Some cashout options have limits on the amount of money you can transfer per day/week. Check the poker room for specific cashout options and limits.
Make sure you have fulfilled all of your bonus requirements before you cashout or you may be penalized. If you have not fulfilled all of your bonus requirements your cashout may be reduced and you may forfiet the bonus amount. Please check the bonus requirements carefully.
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By sticking with legitimate online poker rooms and casinos. Ask yourself these questions. Do they post their rake schedule? Do they accept the most common payment methods? Are the regulated? Are they audited? How long have they been online? Do they have a good reputation?
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A Tournament is a poker game that goes on until one player has won all the chips in the game. Tournaments can range from 'Heads Up' for 2 players, to single table (typically 10 players), to large multi table tournaments with 100's or 1000's of players. In multi table tournaments as players are eliminated, periodically, the remaining players are consolidated and moved to new tables. Eventually, there is only one table left, and the remaining players have all the chips in the game, and they play to the end.
In addition, during most tournaments, the blinds or antes will increase periodically as everyones chip stacks increase.
Tournaments are usually scheduled events, and usually require that you register as a player before the tournament starts to play. Some tournaments have limits on the maximum number of players allowed to play. If you dont show up to play in a tournament you have registered for, all your hands will be folded and you will lose your buy in and entry fee.
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A Buy In is that amount each player contributes to the prize pool for the tournament. The basic premise is that if 1000 players each buy in for $5, then there is a prize pool of $5000 for the winner or winners. Most tournaments payout schedules depend on how many people are in the tournament and other factors, and will determine how many places are paid and how much. Consult the specific tournament for payout details.
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A Rebuy is an opportunity for a player to purchase more chips during a tournament. Usually the Rebuy is limited to the earlier stages of the game, and this is often called the Rebuy Period. There are often other limits placed on rebuys, such as the number of rebuys permitted.
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An Addon is an opportunity for a player to purchase more chips, usually at the end of the rebuy period. Addons are usually open to any players still left in the tournament.
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In a Tournament, the house does not take a 'rake' from each pot, instead they usually charge a small entry fee in addition to your buyin to the tournament. Entry fees usually average about 10% of the buy in, but tend to be lower in the larger multi table tournaments.
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The Prize Pool is the total amount of money available to pay the winner or winners in a given tournament. Usually the prize pool is made up of all the buy in's by all the players, but in some cases like freerolls, the prize pool is put up by or added to by the poker room itself or other sponsors.
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A Sit N Go is an unscheduled tournament that starts whenever enough people sit down to play. Most of the poker rooms online have sit n go's running 24 hours a day, and they are a good way to improve your tournament skills.
Sit N Go's usually range from single table (6-10 players) to small multi table (3+ tables, 30+ players) and are available for free as well as for real money.
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A Freeroll is a tournament which requires no buyin or entry fee, essentially a free tournament. Usually the poker room will put up a cash prize pool, ranging from $25 to $50,000, to pay the winners.
Most online poker rooms run freerolls, please check the tournament details for specific information on payouts and player eligibility.
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A freeze Out Tournament is one is which only the final winning player is paid, usually the entire prize pool. There is no payout schedule as in a normal tournament, only the winner is paid.
For example, if 500 players buyin to a freeze out tournament for $10 each, the winner would be paid $5000, no one else would get anything.
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A satellite is, generally a tournament where the prize is entry into a larger tournament.
For example, you can buy into the Party Poker Millions Tournament directly for $10,000, or you can play in a qualifying tournaments for $210 and win your entry into the Party Poker Millions. Or you can play in any number of smaller satellites ranging anywhere from $8 to $28 and win your entry into the qualifier.
There are satellites running most of the year all over the country for most of the major tournaments, both online and offline, including World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker Events.
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Almost all online poker rooms post their tournament schedule on their websites. You can also log in to the poker room to see an up to the minute tournament summary, as well as see sit n go tournaments. You will need to be logged in to register for a tournament.
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This refers to playing in tournaments, and basically means that since the blinds keep increasing, you cannot sit out every hand waiting for a monster because the blinds will eat up your chipstack. You need to play and win at least a few hands every so often to 'Keep Ahead of the blinds'.
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Schedules for the Major Offline Poker Tournaments can be found Here.
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The grandaddy of all poker tournaments, the WSOP was started as an informal all-nighter for Benny Binion and his pals in 1970 and hosted for the last three decades by Binion's Horseshoe Casino.
It's played annually in April and May, features $20 million in prize money and has landed a prime spot on ESPN. Seats at the big tables are won in satellite games that take place year round at casinos around the globe, or you can buy in directly for $10,000. Official Site
A summary of all the WSOP winners and bracelet holders can be found Here .
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Broadcast every week on the Travel Channel, this has become one of the premier poker tournaments in the world, Drawing the best players from around the world. The WPT championship is held every April at the Bellagio casino in Las Vegas, after a year of satellite events in such far-flung locales as Atlantic City, New Mexico and Inglewood, California, with a buy-in as low as 55 bucks at some of the satellite tourneys. Official Site
A summary of all the WPT winners can be found Here .
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The Party Poker Millions is billed as The world's largest no limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament and one of the richest on the World Poker Tour, with a $3.5-million prize pool in 2004. Played on Holland America's luxurious ms Ryndam in March, most of the players earn their way into the event playing satellite tournaments online at partypoker.com--where preliminary tournaments cost as little as $1 to enter. Official Site
A summary of all the Party Poker Millions winners can be found Here .
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Jack Binion's World Poker Open is held at the Horseshoe/Gold Strike Casinos in Tunica, Mississippi every January. Put on by the son of Benny Binion, owner of the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas and considered by many to be the Father of American Poker, this is a Top US tournament and a part of the WPT. Buy-ins start at $550, and the 2004 winner, Barry Greenstein, pocketed a cool $1.3 million.
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The Aviation Club de France hosts Europe's most glamorous poker event every July. This is one of europes most prestigious Poker tournaments, part of the World Poker Tour, and it has seen phenomenal growth in the last few years. Last year, Parisian David Benyamine stormed past the competition and pocketed $450,000.
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The United States Poker Championship is one of the games' biggest events, played at Donald Trump's Taj Mahal in Atlantic City every September. The 2002 winner, John Hennigan took home over $200,000; the pot was twice that size in 2004 for Toto Leonidas. With a buy-in as low as $335, even the budget poker player can get into this one.
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The first major australian championship, then known as the Australasian Poker Championship, was held July 1998. The main event was a $1,000 buy-in Limit Holdem tournament that attracted 74 entries translating into a $74,000 prizepool.
Since then the Crown Australian Poker Championship has grown rapidly as more and more people in Australia have been attracted to the game of poker and particularly Holdem. This January a record 133 participants paid $10,000 to enter the No Limit Holdem main event, generating the biggest prizepool ever in the Southern Hemisphere of $1,330,000.
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A Part of the World Poker Tour, The $5,000 buy in no-limit hold'em championship is held at the Bicycle Casino is Los Angeles every July. With satellite buy-ins as low as $120 and $150,000 guaranteed for the last player standing this tournament draws both the amateurs and the pros.
In 2005, Doyle Brunson walked away with over $1,100,000 dollars after beating a field of 667, each of which ponied up $5,000 to play.
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A standard poker hand consists of five cards. In games where a player has more than five cards and selects five to form a poker hand (like Texas HoldEm or 7 Card Stud), the remaining cards do not play any part in the ranking. Poker ranks are always based on five cards only.
A wild card is a specific card, which can be used as a substitute for any card the holder wishes, including a card the holder already has. Several cards may be designated as wild - for example all the deuces, or one-eyed jacks.
The hand ranking is the same as described above, except that it is now possible to have five of a kind, in which of course at least one will be represented by a wild card. Five of a kind is the highest combination, beating a Royal Flush.
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In cases of a tie where not all 5 cards are used to make the hand, the player with the highest extra card, called a 'Kicker' will win the hand. For example, if player 1 has A-A-J-7-4, and player 2 has A-A-9-6-2, player one wins because he has the highest Kicker, the Jack. If the 2 highest kickers are the same, the next highest kicker is used. If there are no more kickers and the hands are still tied, this results in a Split pot.
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A 'Split' Hand or Pot is one where 2 or more players have exactly the same hand, a tie. Since some game variations use community cards or wild cards, it is possible for 2 or more players to end up with the exact same ranking hand. While the rules may differ for some variations, in most cases the pot is divided evenly, or 'Split' up, among the players. Also sometimes called a 'Push'.
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Connectors are 2 cards in sequence, for example 7-8. When both cards are of the same suit, they are called 'Suited Connectors'.
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Rags are cards generally not worth playing or that do not affect the outcome of the hand.
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In Games where the player is dealt 2 hole cards (texas holdem, 7 card stud, etc), there have arisen nicknames for some of the possible combinations. We present here some of the most popular, but there are many more.
In addition, some poker hands have developed names also
There are easily over 100 well known variations of poker. We have limited the variations listed here to those that are popular and played online (somewhere).
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In Hold'em, players get two down cards and five community cards (which are face-up in the middle of the table). Your hand is determined by using the best five of those seven cards in any combination.
Basics: There are four rounds of betting in Hold'em. In Limit Hold'em, one bet and three raises are allowed for each betting round. Betting always proceeds in a clockwise rotation.
Here is the procedure for Hold'em:
The top 20 Starting Texas Holdem Hands are, in order:
Double Flop Holdem is played like Texas holdem, except there are 2 boards (sets of community cards). Each board gets a flop, turn and river, and they are dealt at the same time.
Players then make the best best hand for each board.
In some games Double Flop Holdem is played split pot, where the winner of the 1st board takes half the pot and the winner of the 2nd board takes the other half. In some games the best hand from either board wins the entire pot.
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Seven Card Stud is a popular, well-known form of poker. It is played with up to eight players at the table.
The First round:
A fresh table starts off with all the players posting the ante.
In Seven-card stud poker, players receive seven cards, three "down" cards and four "up" cards.
After the antes have been placed each player is dealt three cards (two "down" cards and one "up" card). The "up" card is also known as the "door card" or "Third Street". The lowest "up" card must initiate the action with a "Bring-In" bet. (If two or more players have the same lowest card, the person who brings it in is determined by suit order progressing from clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades.)
Each player is allowed one bet and three raises in each betting round.
The Second Round:
After the first round of betting another card is dealt face-up to each player that still remains in the pot. This is "Fourth Street". From "Fourth Street" on, the highest hand showing begins the action by checking or betting. If a pair is showing on "Fourth Street", players have the option to make a single or double bet. If a player makes a single/double bet, the other players may call, raise the single bet, raise the double bet or fold. In case of a double bet, only an equal amount can be raised (to the extent of the double bet).
The Third Round:
Upon completion of the betting on "fourth street", another card is dealt face-up to those who remain in the pot. This is called "Fifth Street" (the third round of betting - which doubles (the value of each bet is double of what was available in the first two rounds) - and continues at this amount for the remaining betting rounds). The highest hand showing again starts the action by checking or betting.
The Fourth Round:
Upon the completion of betting on "fifth street", another card is dealt face-up. This is "Sixth Street" (fourth betting round).
The Fifth Round:
The final card is dealt down. The last card is also known as the "River Card" or "Seventh Street" (final round of betting).
Some standard rules:
A maximum of four bets, which includes one bet, and three raises are allowed for each betting round per player. To continue to play, players must take an action from what is displayed to them on each "street" or betting round (unless they are all-in). The term cap is used to describe the final raise in a round since betting is then capped and no one can make another raise. Once capped, players will have the option of calling or folding only.
Exceptions to the value of betting in each round:
A player who does not have enough chips to call a bet is declared All-In. The player is eligible for the portion of the pot to the point of his final wager. All further action involving other players takes place in a "side pot", which is unavailable to the player who has already gone All-In.
Upon completion of the final round of betting, the best hand wins the pot. (The pot may also be won by someone who bets without being called at any time during the hand.). Your "hand" is determined by using the best five of seven cards. A combination of the following may be used -
In addition, straights and flushes do not count for the low hand, so the best possible low hand is A2345, also called a 'Wheel'.
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Omaha is an action game. In Omaha:
Basics: There are four betting rounds in Omaha. In Omaha High and Omaha 8 or Better, one bet and three raises are allowed per betting round. To continue to play, players must act on each betting round (unless they are "all-in"). Betting always proceeds in a clockwise rotation.
Here is the procedure for Omaha:
Omaha Hi/Lo is played just like Omaha, except that the highest and lowest ranking hands split the pot. The low hand must have 5 unpaired cards that are 8 or lower (an ace can be high or low).
In addition, straights and flushes do not count for the low hand, so the best possible low hand is A2345, also called a 'Wheel'.
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5 card draw is probably the best known poker variant of all since it is the first one that most people learn. It can be played with 2-8 players.
Triple Draw poker is 5 Card Draw Lowball (low hand wins) with 3 draws instead of one. There is a betting round in between each draw. This makes for a game with alot of luck and action.
In A-5 Triple Draw the lowest hand wins, straights and flushes do not count and aces are low. The best hand in A-5 Triple Draw is A2345.
In 2-6 Triple Draw the lowest hand still wins, but straights and flushes do count, and aces are high. The best hand in 2-6 Triple Draw is 23457 (no flush).
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Razz is played just like 7 Card Stud, except the lowest ranking hand wins instead of the highest.
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A 'Ring' Game is one where you can sit down at a table whenever a seat is available, play as long as you choose, change tables whenever you want, and leave whenever you want. Essentially a continous poker game with players sitting down and leaving all the time.
Ring games for most poker variations and limits are available at all the online poker rooms 24 hours a day for both play and real money, and are very popular.
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Heads Up refers to a game where 2 players play against each other until one is eliminated.
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Video poker is an electronic draw poker game, played either at a machine in a casino, on a computer screen or hand held device, you can even play video poker on certain cell phones. In the casino, while video poker may appear to look like the electronic slot machines, in video poker the player has an influence on the outcome of the hand, unlike slot machines.
Every video poker hand is a completely new entity from a freshly shuffled deck. There is no relationship to the preceding or subsequent hand. The odds of making a Royal Flush, the Jackpot hand, is the same on every hand - even if the previous hand was a Royal Flush.
The object of video poker is to make the highest possible ranking poker hand from the five cards initially dealt to you along with any replacement cards you draw. The rank of the final hand determines the amount won, and it is always the highest ranking hand that can be made from the final five cards.
The only decision you need to make when you're playing video poker is which of the five cards you are dealt should be held and which cards should be discarded and replaced.
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3 Card Poker, also known as Tri Poker, 3 poker, etc., is a popular casino style card game. The aim is to complete the game of 3 Card Poker with the strongest poker hand. All payouts are dependent on the value of the poker hand you are holding.
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In Jackpot Poker a small percentage of the rake contributes to an ever increasing jackpot. Usually, to win the jackpot a player would need to get a very good hand beaten. While the specifics vary from place to place, the most common jackpots are paid out when aces full are beaten, or when pocket aces lose. These are sometimes also called Bad Beat Jackpots.
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The specifics of betting vary greatly from game to game, from which player begins the betting round to how many raises are permitted to how much may be bet. In general a round of betting in poker goes like this.
The first player to bet has the choice to Bet, Check (and pass the bet), or Fold (and retire from the hand). Each player in turn has the same choices except that once a bet has been made, a player may only Call (match the previous bet), Fold, or Raise (by betting more than the previous bet). Players who checked previously will need to call or fold in their turn. The betting round ends when all players have either called or folded.
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An Ante is a small bet placed by every player before each hand. It is used to give every player a stake in every pot and improve the 'action' of the game.
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A Blind is a forced bet put in by one or more players before any cards are dealt. Blinds are usually put in by players immediately to the left of the dealer and usually represent the minimum bet allowed.
In Texas Holdem The small blind (1/2 the minimum bet) is placed by the player immediately to the left of the dealer, and the big blind (the minimum bet) is placed by the next player to the left of the dealer.
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Only allowed in a No Limit Game, going All In refers to betting all your remaining chips. This is one of the things that makes No limit games so exciting, that anyone can lose or win everything in one hand.
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In a 'Limit' Game there are specific limits on the amounts you may bet and raise, and the number of raises permitted. The specific details vary from poker room to poker room, and from game to game, so check the rules for the gory details.
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In a 'Pot Limit' game, a player may bet up to the amount currently in the pot and no more. Pot Limit is interesting in that the more betting there is the bigger the pot becomes and the higher the bets can be which makes the pot even bigger which... Some variations have minimum required bets and limits on the number of raises.
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In a 'No Limit' game, there are no limits placed on the amount you may bet or raise or on the number of raises allowed. Some variations do have minimum required bets, but there is no limit on the maximum bet. A player may bet any or all of his chips at any time.
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Bluffing is to represent a much better hand than you really have in an effort to win the pot by getting everyone else to fold. Often when players bluff they have nothing at all. Many say that bluffing is an art form, knowing when to bluff and for how much is the challenge.
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A Calling Station is a weak-passive player who calls a lot, but doesn't raise or fold much. This is the kind of player you like to have in your game.
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A Maniac is a player who bets, raises and bluffs over much and over agressively. Maniacs are constantly trying to push other players out of pots with overly large bets and raises.
While a maniac may do well in the short term, eventually the odds catch up with them and they run into a better hand.
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A Check Raise occurs when a player checks the bet, another player bets, and when the bet comes back around, he now raises. This can be done to 'test the waters' before making a large bet, or it can be used to try and intimidate other players into folding. A perfectly valid poker tactic, it is permitted in most casinos.
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Slow Playing a hand is to represent a much weaker hand than the one you really have. This is normally done to try to lull other players into putting more money in the pot. Slow playing a hand can backfire when, by simply checking or calling, you allow another player to draw into a much better hand.
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To have a heavily favored hand lose to an underdog hand. The implication is that the winner of the pot had no business even being in the hand, and only won due to absolute sheer luck.
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The Short Stack refers to the player at the table with the fewest chips remaining. In games like texas holdem, being short stacked is a considerable disadvantage.
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Limping in refers to calling a minimum bet before the flop in the hope of seeing the flop cheaply or in preparation to check raise later.
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| Poker Hand Probabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Odds of Being Dealt a Given Hand in 5 Cards | ||
| Hand | # Ways | Odds |
| Royal Flush | 4 | 1 in 649,740.00 |
| Straight Flush | 36 | 1 in 72,193.33 |
| Four of a Kind | 624 | 1 in 4,165.00 |
| Full House | 3,744 | 1 in 694.16 |
| Flush | 5,108 | 1 in 508.80 |
| Straight | 10,200 | 1 in 254.80 |
| Three of a Kind | 54,912 | 1 in 47.32 |
| Two Pair | 123,552 | 1 in 21.03 |
| One Pair | 1,098,240 | 1 in 2.36 |
| No Pair Hand | 1,302,540 | 1 in 1.99 |
| Total | 2,598,960 | |
The poker probability of being dealt a pair or better in the first five cards
dealt is almost even -- to be exact, .499 -- and the poker probability of
being dealt a no-pair hand is practically the same -- .501. So it's almost
a 3 to 1 chance, when playing against two opponents, that one of them will
hold a pair or better in the first five cards dealt. The poker probability
varies slightly depending upon what you hold.
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Basically, an out is any card that will complete your hand. Once you know your Outs, you know what the percentage chance of improving your hand is.
For example, If you have 4 hearts and you are drawing to the flush, then you have 9 outs, the number of hearts remaining in the deck. And if you have an open ended straight draw, you have 8 outs.
Now, divide the number of cards remaining in the deck by the number of outs, and you get the percentage chance that you will get one of your outs.
Or, For texas Holdem, you can just use the table below.
| Outs | On Turn | On River | On Both | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.13% | 1:47.0 | 2.17% | 1:46.0 | 4.26% | 1:23.5 |
| 2 | 4.26% | 1:23.5 | 4.35% | 1:23.0 | 8.42% | 1:11.9 |
| 3 | 6.38% | 1:15.7 | 6.52% | 1:15.3 | 12.49% | 1:8.0 |
| 4 | 8.51% | 1:11.8 | 8.70% | 1:11.5 | 16.47% | 1:6.1 |
| 5 | 10.64% | 1:9.4 | 10.87% | 1:9.2 | 20.35% | 1:4.9 |
| 6 | 12.77% | 1:7.8 | 13.04% | 1:7.7 | 24.14% | 1:4.1 |
| 7 | 14.89% | 1:6.7 | 15.22% | 1:6.6 | 27.84% | 1:3.6 |
| 8 | 17.02% | 1:5.9 | 17.39% | 1:5.8 | 31.45% | 1:3.2 |
| 9 | 19.15% | 1:5.2 | 19.57% | 1:5.1 | 34.97% | 1:2.9 |
| 10 | 21.28% | 1:4.7 | 21.74% | 1:4.6 | 38.39% | 1:2.6 |
| 11 | 23.40% | 1:4.3 | 23.91% | 1:4.2 | 41.72% | 1:2.4 |
| 12 | 25.53% | 1:3.9 | 26.09% | 1:3.8 | 44.96% | 1:2.2 |
| 13 | 27.66% | 1:3.6 | 28.26% | 1:3.5 | 48.10% | 1:2.1 |
| 14 | 29.79% | 1:3.4 | 30.43% | 1:3.3 | 51.16% | 1:2.0 |
| 15 | 31.91% | 1:3.1 | 32.61% | 1:3.1 | 54.12% | 1:1.8 |
| 16 | 34.04% | 1:2.9 | 34.78% | 1:2.9 | 56.98% | 1:1.8 |
| 17 | 36.17% | 1:2.8 | 36.96% | 1:2.7 | 59.76% | 1:1.7 |
| 18 | 38.30% | 1:2.6 | 39.13% | 1:2.6 | 62.44% | 1:1.6 |
| 19 | 40.43% | 1:2.5 | 41.30% | 1:2.4 | 65.03% | 1:1.5 |
| 20 | 42.55% | 1:2.4 | 43.48% | 1:2.3 | 67.53% | 1:1.5 |
Pot Odds is the amount of money in the pot compared to the amount you must put in the pot to continue playing.
For example, suppose there is $54 in the pot. Someone bets $6, so the pot is now $60. It will cost you $6 to call, so your pot odds are 1:10. If your chance of having the best hand is at least one out of eleven (see counting outs), you should call.
Pot odds can also apply to draws. For example, if you are drawing to a flush with one card left, your chances are about 1:4. If it will cost you $5 to call, then there needs to be at least $20 in the pot to justify a call.
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Try Dr. Brian Alspach's Home Page - Professor Emeritus, Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics, Simon Fraser University.
Dr. Anspach has written many good papers on the computation of poker, and is considered an expert in the field. Most of his papers are online in full text as well as links to all his poker digest articles (there are quite a few). This guy is the guru.
You can also check out HoldemSim, a continuosly running texas holdem simulation that is well over 200 million hands and climbing.
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It is thought that the modern game of poker is derived from an 18th century french game called 'poque' (pronounced poke).
The first mention of the game was by English actor Joseph Crowell as played in New Orleans in 1829. It was played with a deck of 20 cards, and four players bet on which player's hand of cards was the highest. Jonathan H. Green's book An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling (G. B. Zieber, Philadelphia, 1843) described the effect the mississippi riverboats had on the spread of the game from there to the rest of the country.
Soon after this, the standard 52-card deck was used, and the flush was introduced. During the American Civil War, many changes were made to the game, including draw poker, 5 card stud poker, and the addition of the straight. Further American developments included the wild card (around 1875), lowball and split-pot poker (around 1900), and community card poker games (around 1925). The spread of the game to other countries, notably Asia, is often attributed to the U.S. military.
In the 1940's and 50's, poker was played mostly in the roadhouses, and had a considerably bad reputation. People like Doyle Brunson and others, traveled the back roads in texas playing poker in backrooms, it was, after all, illegal then. In 1951, Benny Binion created Binions Horseshoe Casino, and began to cater to poker players.
By 1960, poker was played in homes all around the US, and while it may have been technically illegal, usually only a misdemeanor, it became a very popular game among suburban men.
Modern poker tournaments became popular in American casinos after the World Series of Poker began in 1970. This was also the period that the first serious poker strategy books appeared, including The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky, Doyle Brunson's Super System: A Course in Power Poker, and Caro's Book of Poker Tells by Mike Caro.
The current popularity of poker in america is largely due to 2 factors. The first was the introduction of the 'satelite' tournament by Jack Binion, Benny's son. This allowed almost anyone to have a chance at the big money for a small investment.
The second factor was the explosion of poker tournaments on cable and television. The number of poker related shows is increasing every season, with no signs of stopping anytime soon.
It is estimated that there are now (2005) about 50 million poker players in the United States alone.
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The Dead Man's Hand, two pair - black aces and black eights, is purported to be the hand that Wild Bill Hickok was holding when he was shot to death in Deadwood, South Dakota on August 2nd, 1876. Jack McCall, seeking revenge for the death of his brother, shot Hickok in the back of the head.
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The Poker Hall of Fame was created in 1979 to recognize oustanding achievements or significant contributions to the game of Poker. It is located at Binions Horshoe Casino in Las Vegas.
The Selection Criteria for the Hall of Fame is straightforward and the standards are high:
The names are listed with the year they were inducted.
There are obviously alot of places online to buy poker supplies, Just stick to the reputable online dealers with real websites. Make sure they have a privacy policy as well as a reasonable return policy.
We reccomend WorldPokerOutlet.com. They feature casino quality poker chips, poker chip sets, poker table tops, accessories, poker chip cases, playing cards and more. Plus get a Free copy of Bluff magazine with any purchase!
You can also search for poker supplies on eBay!
and Amazon
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There are many different types of poker chip, ranging in quality and price. Here is a basic breakdown, from the worst to the best.
There are basically 2 ways we know of to get a free poker chip set online. Both work. We have received merchandise from both methods.
You can browse the bestselling poker books at Amazon by clicking Here.
Or may we reccomend
These are some of the most widely published poker magazines.
You can browse the bestselling poker dvds at amazon by clicking Here
Or may we reccomend
The Nuts refers to having the absolute best hand possible given the current cards on the board.
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Dead Money refers to the chip stack of a player with little or no experience, and virtually no chance of winning a tournament.
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Drawing Dead refers to a player drawing cards to a hand not knowing that another player has a higher ranking hand that he cannot beat no matter what cards he draws. For example, someone drawing to a flush vs someone with 4 of a kind. Even if he makes the flush, he has lost the hand.
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To play a hand in texas hold'em when the cards in your hand dont make any better hand than what is on the board. Note that if you play the board, the best you can do is to split the pot with all remaining players.
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I do. I wanted an online poker FAQ that was as informative and basic as possible and was not another thinley veiled attempt to advertise poker sites. I have been an online poker player since 2001 and a webmaster a lot longer.
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This FAQ is supported by the few small links to sponsors, like Amazon.com, that generate revenue to offset the hosting and other costs associated with this FAQ. All of the sponsor links in this FAQ are endorsed by me, and in most cases I have personally checked out the sponsor and the product.
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Two reasons actually. First, it took alot of work and many hours to create this document, and many more are spent maintaining it. And second, every time I license this document for use on the web, it dilutes my content, since some search engines, most notably google, are penalizing sites based on duplicate content.
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