by Dean Evert
The popularity of the card game of poker has grown tremendously since the days of the Wild West when every saloon in every town had a poker table and a game going all the time. Poker is the most popular and the most played card game than any other card game on earth. All you have to do is step in front of the television any time of the day or night, and eventually you will find a televised poker game going on, usually a tournament of some sort with all the players vying for the pot with the best poker hands they can muster.
Any game you play today has rules and regulations, and poker is no different. The basics of the more common forms of poker is that the individual cards are ranked in ascending value from 2 (low) to Ace (high); and unlike some other card games, suits have no value when ranking hands or tallying points. In lowball games of poker, where the best poker hands are the lowest valued hands (just the opposite of the traditional games of poker); Ace plays low only when you are playing lowball games in A to 5, and A to 6, and in 2 to 7 lowball the Ace plays high. But traditionally, the high cards are the Ace, then the King, Queen, Jack, and 10 in descending order; and the best poker hands are those with the highest value in the hand.
Because suits play no part in how a poker hand is evaluated, they only matter when trying to place a hand in a certain framework as in describing a flush or a straight flush. What a flush is, is 5 cards all of the same suit (like 3,6,7,8,9 of spades) and a straight flush is 5 cards in sequence all in the same suit, (like 3,4,5,6,7 of spades). If two players each hold a straight flush in different suits-say one has 2,3,4,5,6 of diamonds and the other has 2,3,4,5,6 of spades; the spades are not considered higher than the diamonds: the hands are identical in value, the outcome of the hand is a tie, and the two players must split the pot. To recognize your dealt hand as being one of the best poker hands at the table, you must understand and commit to memory what the rankings of the card combinations are and in what order. The lowest card combo ranking in poker is high cards (no pair), then 1 pair, 2 pair, 3 of a kind, Straight, Flush, Full House, 4 of a kind, and Straight Flush.
Next up in importance in what you should know in playing poker, is how to bid correctly so you can make the most of the best poker hands if you should be lucky enough to be dealt one. Don’t forget that the other players around the table are just as eager to win as you are, and they are watching every move you make with eagle eyes; even if they have their “poker faces” on and seem not to be noticing what you are doing or how you are sweating, etc. Psychology is at its best here in action at the poker table, and you must keep control of your body language and your facial expressions so you don’t give away your hand, especially if you are bluffing.
No one ever became an expert in any field without lots of experience and the same holds true for playing poker. The more experience you have playing with all kinds of different players, watching how they bid, how they move, how they react when they look at their cards; the more prepared you will be for every successive game you get into as you keep on playing. Remember that old western jingle that goes something like “know when to hold ‘em, and know when to fold ‘em”; well they were singing about poker hands and playing out their hands whether they were the best poker hands or the worst, and that advice is just as sage today as it was way back when.
Following closely on the heels of experience is the need to be informed if you are to do well in the field you have chosen to pursue. There is no place better for informing yourself with the ins and outs of poker and what the best poker hands are, than the Internet. There are tons of sites that will help you understand the act of playing and bidding poker, as well as interactive sites that allow you to join a game in progress and sharpen your skills as you match your wits with other players around the virtual table. There is no need for money to play on these sites, and they are great places to learn and have fun.
Our world would be a very dull place indeed without card games, and when it comes to poker; no matter what type of poker it is from 5 card stud to Texas Hold ‘Em, it is the card game of choice for millions of people around the globe. Poker has spawned a lexicon of words and expressions all its own such as “poker face” and “when the chips are down”, and can be a thrilling experience for someone to sit at a poker table and immerse themselves in the fun and drama that is poker. Whether you are sitting in a game with one of the best poker hands you have ever had or playing for the very first time and are nervous as all get out; the thrill is never far away as the play progresses and with experience you will find that soon you will be a poker playing aficionado as well.