Poker for Beginners

Poker is a game that is currently in the height of its popularity. Millions watch poker tournaments on TV and just as many visit online casinos daily to strengthen their own poker skills. If you would like to begin playing poker, this article will serve as a guide to teach you the basics of poker and give you the two biggest tricks to winning the game, so that you can begin playing like a pro.
The Basics of Poker
There are many variations on the game of poker. Some of the most popular variations include Texas Hold'em, No Limit Seven Card Stud, and Omaha. No matter what variation you are playing, the point of all poker games is to get the highest hand and take the 'pot' (the money that has been wagered by players). Here is a list of poker hands & order ranks from highest to lowest.
1. Royal Flush 2. Straight Flush 3. Four of a Kind 4. Full House 5. Flush 6. Straight 7. Three of a Kind 8. Two Pair 9. One Pair 10. High Card
The very best thing about playing poker against other opponents, is that you do not necessarily have to have the best hand to win the pot. You can always trick your opponents into thinking you have a better hand than them with your actions and words, a strategy called bluffing. The next section will discuss 'bluffing' in more detail, along with other helpful strategies.
In all variations of the game of poker, the game will move clockwise around the table and each player will examine their hand to determine whether they want to check, call, raise, or fold. This will continue until one of these things happen:
1. All players have decided to fold, leaving only one player holding his or her cards. This one player will be the winner of the pot. 2. All remaining players have bet as much as they wish to and they have all shown their cards to the rest of the players, in order to determine who has the best hand. Whoever has the best hand will be the winner of the pot.
Here is a list of common poker terms that you may need to know:
 Bet - how much money you wager in favor of yourself.
 Bluff - Making an opponent believe that you have a better hand than you really do.
 Call - Equally meeting an opponent's bet (wager).
 Check - When you want to stay in the game, but do not want to raise the pot. You can check if the wager amount has not been raised since your last bid.
 Fold - When you decide to discontinue betting and give up your hand.
 Pot - The sum of all bets (wagers) from all players for a particular hand.
 Raise - Increasing your bet (wager) above your opponents' bet.
The Two Big Tricks of Poker
'Reading' Your Opponents
The most important thing to remember when you are playing poker is that you need to try and determine what kind of hand your opponents have. This is known as 'reading' your fellow players. This strategy is an essential part of being a poker pro.
Why is this skill so important? Because getting a Royal Flush or Straight Flush -- the two highest ranked hands -- are pretty rare. Even a straight -- the sixth ranked poker hand -- can be hard to find in some variations of the game. Since lower hands are mostly what you will get, there will be a good chance someone will have a better hand than you.
On the other hand, you want a chance to win the pot on every hand -- even if you have no more than a pair. If you can 'read' your opponents enough to take a good guess at what kind of hand they have, you can determine if you have a chance to beat them with your own hand or if you'd be better off tricking them into thinking you have a great hand and trying to get them to fold (known as 'bluffing' and explained in more detail below).
By 'reading' your opponents, you will also know when it is a good time to fold. Remember, you do not want to lose too much money if a player is not backing down. This skill will help you in all aspects of the game.
'Bluffing' Your Opponents
Bluffing -- briefly explained earlier -- is another highly important skill in the game of poker. When you bluff, you make your opponents think that you have a better hand than you really do. The point of this trick is to try and get the other players to fold, so that you can win the pot with little or nothing in your hand. This is best used with hands that would likely not win the pot otherwise.
Although bluffing is usually used to help a player with a bad hand, it can also help a player with a great hand. If you do have a great hand, it is best to make the other players think that you have absolutely nothing. This way they will continue to raise the pot and add more money, instead of folding quickly, and you will walk away with more money.
Both of these strategies can be used whether you are online gambling or playing in a real casino; however, both will become more difficult and you will be limited in what you can do with these two strategies when you are online gambling.
All in all, poker is a great way to have fun, with friends or strangers, and when a little money in the process. Turn in your bingo cards in for poker chips and find out what an exciting game it can be. Although it will likely not make you a millionaire, you may just find yourself at a 'World Series of Poker' tournament someday -- after all, even the best poker pros had to start somewhere. Remember, don't take every lost hand too seriously because, to be good at the game, you need to love the game; and to love the game, you have to keep having fun.
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About the Author
I am john a freelance content writer and Web Designer with deep interest in online casino gambling. I have written many articles and published many of them online. I have designed website on online poker and online bingo. I love to write on online casino.