Learning Basic Poker Fast
You can learn basic poker in a matter of minutes. You just need a pack of 52 cards in the standard deck and four to ten players.
Casinos employ dealers. Basic poker players can assign the task to anyone among them. Card dealing is done clockwise.
Bets are made by players according to their intuition on who is holding the highest poker hand. All bets are accumulated in the pot.
All types of poker follow the same poker hand descriptions and ranking, as follows:
1. straight flush, comprised of five same-suited sequenced cards, where the Ace - if used - is considered either the highest or the lowest card; 2. four of a kind, comprised of four same-ranked cards and one extraneous card; 3. full house, comprised of three same-ranked cards and another two same-ranked cards; 4. flush, comprised of five same-suited cards; 5. straight, comprised of any five sequenced cards; 6. three of a kind, comprised of three same-ranked cards and two extraneous cards; 7. two pair, comprised of two sets of same-ranked cards and an extraneous card; 8. one pair, comprised of two same-ranked cards and three extraneous cards; and 9. high card or a card of best value in a motley combination.
When hands are of the same type, ranking is done according to the highest value card in the first combination of the hand.
Except for the opening player, all other poker players have three choices in each round of the game. They can call or match the previous player's bet. They can exceed the previous player's bet, thereby raising the stakes of the game. They can also do neither and opt to fold instead, thereby conceding and losing all their previous bets.
Poker players try to make their opponents fold by bluffing. They make it appear that they hold the highest hand and are sure to win, even raising the stakes with a show of confidence. This, of course, raises their risk, too.
After everyone has been given the chance to bet or fold, the round ends. When two or more players remain in the game, a show of hands or showdown is called to find the winning hand.
When a single player remains and others have already folded, the showdown is no longer called. The remaining player has already won.
Learning basic poker may be fast and easy. Mastering the skills to win consistently at poker may take a lifetime of practice, though. It is, however, a lot of fun to practice.