Poker online

Poker is the most popular card game at land-based casinos as well as at online casinos. The name of the card game Poker is a collective name for several different variants, and there are countless ones. It is difficult to find a casino that cannot offer poker tables for all varieties of poker.

The history of Poker

As always when it comes to explaining a phenomenon that has a long history, you do not really know where to start and what is true or not. When it comes to poker, there are many theories about where and when it started. And if you go far enough back in time, there are no written sources to rely on, therefore the origin of poker is shrouded in some obscurity.

One theory is that poker-like games were played in Asia, mainly in China, which is the origin of many popular casino games. The fact that card games were played in China 900 years ago is considered a verifiable fact, but the history of modern poker is much younger. Card games came to Europe with the various trade exchanges that were made, and games emerged that had the elements of poker in them – bets, blinds and bluffs.

Another theory is that the word poker comes from the French Poque which is the name of a card game where you bet and bluff. This game came to America with the French, who began colonizing southern United States. And sometime in the 1830s, the word poker first appeared. And not just the word but also a game that is very similar to today’s poker. In the beginning, they played with a game containing four colors and five denominations, 20 cards. The denominations were 10, jack, queen, king and ace. These denominations are often called poker symbols when it comes to slot machines. The game was then played with four players who received five cards each. It wasn’t until the end of the century poker started being played with all 52 cards.

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Poker variants

You can divide the poker into four different variants, Texas Hold’em, Five Card Draw, Omaha and Seven Card Stud. The variant that currently is the most popular is Texas Hold’em and in physical casinos, a majority of the gaming tables are dedicated to this variant. Another increasingly popular variant that is closing in on Texas Hold’em is Omaha, which is available in several variants. One can always speculate as to why this is happening, one explanation may be that Texas Hold’em is relatively easy to learn while Omaha is considerably more difficult. Maybe the real poker pros want to play a game that demands a little more of them while also finding a niche for themselves where the stakes and skill levels are higher.

How to play Texas Hold’em

It would be a long explanation to describe all variants of modern poker in a single text, so let us instead delve into the most popular variant, Texas Hold’em.

You usually take turns being the dealer, ie the person who deals the cards. The dealer has a “button” that shows that he or she is the dealer. Then the dealer button moves one step to the left after each played hand. You start by making a mandatory bet to join in on that hand. That bet is called the blind.

The first cards are dealt, but all players receive two cards at a time. Now all players are allowed to either fold, call or raise. Assuming there are players left, the dealer deals three community cards on the table. They must lie there throughout the game and all participants play with these cards and with which they must combine their best poker hand. These three cards are called the “Flop”. Now betting round 2 begins. All players can now call, raise, check or fold.

Now the fourth community card is laid out, which is called the “Turn”. Immediately after that, betting round 3 begins, which works the same way as at the Flop.

After the third betting round, the fifth and final community card called the “River” is dealt. Now all players have seven cards to combine into the best poker hand, the two of their own that no one has seen and the five community cards. Now it’s time for one last betting round. If there are two or more players left, it’s time to show your cards. The best combination of five cards out of the seven wins the pot.

Where to play poker today

The game of Poker has changed considerably since online casinos were first introduced. Previously, poker was a fairly exclusive game played at casinos or at poker clubs. Now all you have to do is put your hand in your pocket, as online poker can be played on a smartphone. It is also possible to play on a tablet or any personal computer. The largest poker site in international terms is Pokerstars, but there is a large number of companies that also offer poker games online.

Big tournaments are played in poker, the biggest is the WSOP (Word Series of Poker) and one way to get in and play against the pros is to win poker tournaments online that can give anyone a ticket to the tournament.