Poker may be the most well know, well recognized and popular of all the classic casino games. It can be found at every casino online
and on land. A casino without poker just isn't a casino at all. It is unthinkable to operate a casino without the game of
poker. It is played by almost everyone who loves card games including professional gamblers, celebrities, and amateur players
who play in the comfort of their own home with friends.
The pot (amount of money to play for) can vary drastically. High Roller tables at prestigious casinos or serious poker tournaments
may offer games that are played for hundreds or even thousands of dollars a hand. Amateur games can be played for mere pennies
or even bottle caps. Most people enjoy the fun of the game but the excitement is added when money is at stake. This helps
to inspire the art of bluffing -that is to try to fool someone into thinking you have a stronger hand than you actually do.
Poker is a unique game because it involves acting as part of the overall playing strategy. This may be one reason why it is
so popular.
Poker exists in many variations. These variations have formed over time in different geographical areas around
the country and even the world. There are variations of poker that come from different stated like Texas Hold'em or Omaha
hi-lo and there are variations that come from other parts of the world like Caribbean stud poker or Pai Gow poker from China.
We've covered 30 different variations of the game in this section of some well known and some lesser known variations of the
popular game of Poker. Please read on to find out more.
There is a fifty percent chance that you will not better your opening hand however if you do not have a pair
or better, or four cards to a flush or straight then fold. Remembering always to keep your best poker face as other players
will be reading your body language and see how you react to different hands.
Community Board Poker
Texas Hold'em You can bet with just an ace or two minor over-cards on the flop but if someone
bets before you on the flop you can call with two over-cards, but fold them at the turn unless your hand improves. You can
call with two major over-cards and if someone raises your bet on the flop you can then also check the call and bet on the
turn with that hand, unless of course the board looks threatening.
A small pair with an over-card kicker is a strong hand that you can cold-call a raise on the flop. Although
it is best that you probably fold it on the next round if it was raised on the flop and you have not been able to improve
your hand and someone has bet before you. If everyone checks on the flop you may then bet on the turn even if you have nothing.
Your opponent's will often fold in this situation.
You can sometimes bluff-bet if the flop contains an ace however, your opponents will often fold in this situation
especially if they don't have any pairs or an open ended straight, as it is impossible for them to have any over-cards when
the flop contains an ace. Please note that this will only work if you don't have too many opponents.
Should someone bet or raise you and you are considering folding, be sure to consider the amount of chips that
the player has in front of him. If he is out of chips it's likely that he is bluff raising and betting because he knows he
will go 'all-in' on that hand.
Omaha Omaha is mathematically simplistic and if you play only good starting hands and your
opponents see fit to play almost every hand, and don't care whether they play for one bet or for four, soon the math of that
will work in your favour. Omaha is the best game to make money, especially when you have a small bankroll. In Omaha High Low
the high hand winner has to split the pot with the player who is holding the lowest hand. There is always a winner for the
high hand but not always for the low hand. To qualify for a low hand you must have five numbers no higher than eight. Any
of your two facedown cards are played for high and two are played for low. Players play out two of their hands for each direction.
Aces can be used for high and low. The most important point to remember in split pot games is the profit difference.
It is also vitally important to pay attention to your cards as it can get confusing and mistakes can be very
costly. When you play to scoop the pot, remember that after the flop, if your high hand is not a certain winner and will more
than likely have to split with the low, or if you are playing for low and don't have a decent high hand it is recommended
to fold your hand.
Draw Poker
Five Card The amount of visible cards makes it easier for players to estimate the strength
of your opponent's hand. As there are only four rounds of betting you need to know when your cards are worth holding or folding.
The object of the game is to have the best poker hand and to win the pot. Skill and patience will see you through.
Remember there are thirteen cards in a suit and as you can see most of your opponents cards, you can work out their strongest
hand. If you cannot beat the exposed cards then fold.
If you need to make a flush or a straight make sure the other players are not holding any cards you need to
make your strongest hand. Aim for flushes and straights. You cannot win many hands by holding an Ace high or a pair. When
holding a pair you can make three of a kind, full house and four of a kind.
Stud Poker
A good starting hand increases your percentage mostly at low limit tables and the bets are called all the way
to the 'river' prompting a showdown. Winning hands establish you as a respected player and you will win decent pots. Once
you know your game it is most likely that other players will not call your bets beyond 'Sixth Street' without a competitive
hand. At low stake tables, stud players are honest and will not raise in later rounds with a pair unless they have Kings or
better and wont fold once they have two pairs with no flushes or straight showing on the board.
All low stake tables you will play to break even or stay ahead with your chips. To win large pots you need to
use advanced betting strategy.
Seven-card/Stud hi-lo/8b Stud hi-low is Stud 8/b which means eights or better. The only
rule that is different between stud hi-low and stud 8/b is that a 'fourth street' pair does not allow for a double bet. The
strategy for stud 8/b is more complicated because the plays are more multi-way with heavy action.
Highest hands win the pot as they do in stud hi however to play low a low hand has to qualify. A hand of any
five cards is equal to or lower than the number eight to qualify for a low hand. The object of the game is to scoop the pot
with best high hand as well as the best low hand.
The best way to play hi-low is at a full table and to begin with combinations that play for low contention.
For hi-low games you need to be looking at the door cards for the following to determine which hand is best to play:
1. Who raises with a low door card 2. How many low cards are on the table 3. How may of each
suit is showing 4. How many high cards are on the table 5. How many duplicated cards are on the table 6. Who is
calling on a high
Any combination of cards can turn into a good hand and starting hands with more outs available is better.
Look for a table when determining which side you want to play that is high or low. If there are players taking stabs at playing
for high with door-cards of nine of higher when low cards have been called and look for players calling 9-10-J-Q-K you will
want to get the feel for which type of hand you need to compete against.
VIDEO POKER
Video Poker is a simplified poker game played on a machine. The first thing you must remember about Video Poker
is that you are NOT playing against other players, as in traditional poker. You are playing against the machine. This means
that all you have to do is get a particular hand or better to win money. You don't need to outsmart anyone. Even so, it's
important to know what you're doing. It's worth taking the time to learn the rules - most video poker machines offer returns
of over 95% and some even offer returns over 100%!
A poker hand consists of 5 cards. The Ace is considered the highest card, followed by Kings, Queens, Jacks,
etc. The lowest card is a two. The object of the game is to get the best hand possible. You wager a certain number of coins/credits,
usually between 1 and 5. The machine then deals you five cards. You can keep or discard as many cards as you like. To keep
a card, click the "hold" button underneath or on the card. Click on deal/draw to replace the cards you chose not to keep.
The cards not being held are replaced with new cards. If your new set of cards contains a winning hand, you get paid.
Hands are listed below, from best (highest scoring), to worst (no score):
· Royal Flush - 2000 points A Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, all of the same suit.
· Straight Flush - 250 points All five cards are consecutive and are the same suit. e.g.
Three of Clubs, Four of Clubs, Five of Clubs, Six of Clubs and Seven of Clubs.
· Four of a Kind - 125 points Four cards of the same value e.g. 4 Queens
· Full House - 40 points A three of a kind and a pair at the same time. e.g. three aces
and two fives
· Flush - 25 points All cards in your hand are the same suit. (They don't have to be in
any order.) e.g. Ace of Hearts, Three of Hearts, Six of Hearts, Jack of Hearts, Eight of Hearts
· Straight - 20 points All five cards are consecutive. e.g. Three of Clubs, Four of
Spades, Five of Clubs, Six of Diamonds, and Seven of Hearts.
· Three of a Kind - 15 points Three cards of the same value. e.g. three Jacks
· Two Pair - 10 points Two pairs of cards. In other words, two cards in your hand are
the same value, and two other cards in your hand are also the same value. e.g. two 3's and two seven's
· Pair - 5 points Two cards in your hand are the same value. In some versions, they must
be Jacks or better! e.g. two Kings
· None of the Above - 0 points
Each turn "costs" 5 points, so if you get a pair, no points actually end up added to your total score. If
you don't get anything, you actually lose five points! This is how handheld and Vegas video poker games generally work.
Three common versions of Video Pokers in online casinos are 'Jacks or Better', 'Deuces Wild' and 'Jacks
Wild':
Jacks or Better
This is the most popular version of Video Poker. Basically, you need to get a pair of jacks or better in order
to get paid (hence the name). Let's assume you bet five coins. If you get a pair of Jacks or better, you get five coins back.
The machine might call you a "winner," but don't be fooled. You deposited five coins to begin with, and you just got your
original five coins back, so you haven't won anything at this point. In order to really win, you must get a two pair or higher.
The amount of coins you win depends on how high your hand is. A typical payout schedule is shown below.
Hand > 250 - 800, or *Progressive Jackpot Royal Flush > 250 - 800, or *Progressive Jackpot Straight
Flush > 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Four of a Kind > 25 Full House > 6-9 Flush > 5-6 Straight > 4 Two
Pair > 2 Pair of Jacks or Better > 1 Three of a Kind > 3
*There are two types of machines. One will pay you a straight number of coins for the Royal Flush, and the other
will pay you a Progressive Jackpot. A Progressive Jackpot simply means that a percentage of each coin dropped in the machine
goes into a jackpot, which is paid out to the next recipient of a Royal Flush.
Deuces Wild In the 'Deuces Wild' version of Video Poker, all deuces are treated as wild
cards. This means that whenever you get a 2, you can use that card as any card you like. You can therefore change its face
value and/or suit to work with the hand you have. With Deuces Wild, you have a far better chance of getting good hands. The
casino compensates for this by offering a tighter payout schedule. You only get paid with a three of a kind or better.
Below is a typical payout schedule for Deuces Wild:
Hand Payout >> per coin Royal Flush w/Deuces > varies Four Deuces > 200 Royal Flush
w/Deuces > 25 Five of a Kind > 15 Straight Flush > 9 Four of a Kind > 5 Full House > 3
Jokers Wild
Jokers Wild is five card draw poker with the addition of one joker. This means you are playing with a 53 card
deck instead of 52. The joker is a wild card, and can be played as any card you want. The existence of a wild card increases
your chances of getting a good hand, so the payout schedule is adjusted accordingly. You need a two pair or better to get
paid. Below is a table showing typical payouts in Las Vegas:
Hand >> Payout per coin Royal Flush > varies Five of a Kind > 100 Royal Flush w/Joker
> 50 Straight Flush > 50 Four of a Kind > 20 Full House > 8 Flush > 7 Straight > 5 Three
of a Kind > 2 Two Pair > 1
VIDEO POKER STRATEGY
There are three things you need to do in order to strip away the mystery of an online video poker machine and
understand its value to you. These should be included in your video poker strategy:
1. You must be able to read the pay tables and know which ones have the highest payback. 2. You must know
the best video poker strategy for the machines you choose to play. 3. You must know the volatility of a particular machine
- what effect it will have on your bankroll.
Based purely on the mechanics, playing online video poker is simplicity itself. However, playing it well
entails a bit more effort and that's where your video poker strategy comes into play. Online video poker is one game where
the house advantage is definitely affected by how much knowledge the player has. The two main skills involved (proper machine
selection and knowing the proper strategy for the video poker machine you're playing) get complicated because online video
poker comes in a never-ending variety of games.
How do you navigate this sea of machines? First, lets look at them in the broadest terms: there are non-wild
card games such as Jacks or Better and Double Bonus. Then there are wild card games such as Deuces Wild or Joker Wild. Within
these two general types, there are many varieties. Payout schedule return rates may vary from below 90% to above 100%.
The best place to begin honing your video poker strategy is with the machine that started the whole phenomenon:
the Jacks or Better game. The Jacks or Better pays off for a pair of jacks or higher, which is particularly good for beginners
because of its easily understandable strategy. Better yet, the best version of Jacks or Better has a 99.5% payback percentage
when played with expert strategy. This means it has only a 0.5% house advantage. In other words, in the long run, you expect
to lose only 50 cents of every $100 you play. This is one of the best bets in the casino.
Consider Jacks or Better as the hershey bar of the video poker candy store: classic, reliable, straightforward,
and simply satisfying. You may want to move to more new and exotic confections, but Jacks or Better must always be the most
accessible and understandable part of your strategy.
While there are many factors to consider in developing your online strategy, they are far too numerous to detail
here. We will leave you though with an important factor, and possibly the most important thing to look at when developing
your strategy - the pay table. The pay table strips away the game's mystery; its basically a window into knowing whether the
game is worth your money. You can consider these tips the 'tip of the iceberg' in developing your online video poker strategy.
