Poker

Poker is one of the most famous card games in the world available in every trusted online and land-based casino. There are many variations of poker, each of them with its own rules and a guarantee for a well-spent time filled with joy and excitement. Let BetCraving explain more about this game.

This card game is played by several players that bet that their card value is greater than the rest of the players, where the player with the highest hand at the end of the betting wins the pot. Below you will find everything that you need to know about poker and its many variants.

History of Poker

The game of poker was introduced somewhere in the early 19^th century in the United States and it was played with a twenty-card pack and a five-card hand to each player. There are many theories about the origins of the game, but there is no clear evidence that can lead to the poker game that we know today.

In the Mississippi River region, an early form of the game was played in the early or mid 18^th century. They used a 52-card pack and included both straight poker and stud. The 20 card poker was a variation that was intended for two players. However, in New Orleans, in the early 19^th century 20 card poker was played by four players. Players would place bets on which player’s hand was the highest.

The game’s popularity spread across the US thanks to the Mississippi riverboats, on which gambling was a very common activity. Soon after the spread of the game, they’ve adopted the 52-card pack and introduced the flush and later on the draw. Other additions to the game were added during the American Civil War, such as stud poker and the straight.

Tournament was Introduced

Further developments were introduced after 1875, which saw the appearance of the wild card, lowball, split-pot poker, and community card poker games. By the 1970s poker was becoming far more popular than it ever was before. Around that time modern tournaments became popular after the beginning of the World Series of Poker.

In 1987, California legalized the Hold’em, Omaha, and Stud Poker variants. This led to the massive “boom” in the gambling industry. By the 1990s, poker and casino gambling had already spread across the US. In 1998, the first real money online poker game was dealt with by Planet Poker. Since then, many believe it to be the best online casino game.

Poker Betting Rules

In a game of poker, the center of attention is largely centered on betting. Because of that, a protocol has been developed to lessen the confusion, speed up play, and increase security whilst playing. Different variations of the game are played using different types of bets. But of course, most of these variations are following the same rules and protocol when it comes to betting.

The betting system that involves the small blind, big blind, and a dealer button is used in Texas Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and other limit poker games. In these games, the small blind is always seated left from the dealer button, with the big blind seated left of the small blind and the other players on the table are relative to those three spots.

In the poker games that use the blinds system, the first round of betting starts with the player that is seated left of the big blind. After that player has acted, the action continues clockwise around the table. This goes on until every player is given the chance to act.

Some poker variants use the system of antes, which is a forced bet that’s put in by every player. Some other variants use the bring-in system, which lets the player with the weakest face-up card act first. Overall, all poker games allow the player to choose from the four different betting actions, which are described below:

• Call: means matching the amount that the previous player has betted or raised
• Raise: means to increase the amount of the current open bet or re-raise the previous player that has already raised
• Fold: means to push the cards into the middle and surrender any chance to win the hand
• Check: means to pass the action on to the next player without placing a bet

Different Types of Poker

For a card game that’s been around for centuries, it’s understandable for some rules to change over time. This is done to invent a different version of the traditional game.

Poker has a lot of variants available, with the most famous being: Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi, Omaha Hi-Lo, 7-Card Stud, 2-7 Triple Draw, 5 Card Draw, among others. Below we will explain some of the poker variants and point out their differences.

Texas Hold’em Poker

This is the most popular and widely played version of the game. The biggest poker tournament – World Series of Poker – also plays under these rules. The game is played with two dealt cards and 5 community cards. 

There are four betting rounds in the game after the hole cards are dealt. The second happens after the three community cards are placed face-up. Then, another time after the fourth card is placed. Finally, another time after the fifth and final card is revealed. Players combine their two cards with three of the community cards intending to make the best hand.

Omaha Hi

The second most popular poker game in the world is Omaha Hi. In the name, the “Hi” refers to the highest hand winning the entire pot at the end of the game. It’s usually played as a pot-limit game, and that is why the game is most commonly known as Pot-Limit Omaha.

Overall, the game is played exactly like Texas Hold’em, with the main difference being that the players receive 4 hole cards instead of 2. Also, when combining their best 5-card hand they must use 2 of their 4 hole cards and 3 of the community cards.

7-Card Stud

Before Texas Hold’em became so popular among the players around the world, Stud poker was known as the most common form of poker. This game is much different from the previously mentioned variations, where the players used hole cards and community cards to form their best hand.

In this variant of poker, every player receives their own individual seven cards, out of which at the end of the game they form their best 5-card hand. Some of the player’s cards are face-down and hidden from the eyes of other players, while other cards are placed face-up and revealed to all players.

Types of Bet

When it comes to the types of bets in a game of poker, the players can choose from 9 options, which are mentioned and described below:

• Value bet: The player bets on raising the pot
• Continuation bet: The player bets on pre-flop and flop
• Probe bet: The player bets out of position for pre-flop raise
• Slow play: The player acts with a river raise after check-calling
• Overbet: The player placed a bet that is higher than the pot value
• Pot bet: The player places a bet that is equal to the pot value
• Three-bet: The player re-raises on pre-flop
• All-in bet: The player bets all of his chips 
• Donk bet: The player re-raises a big blind that made a pre-flop bet out of position during the flop

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