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History
There are many theories about poker and its origins, but the most
likely one is that what we know as poker today originates from different parts
of many different games. In 900 BC the Chinese invented a version of Chinese
dominos, which is generally regarded as the first ever poker game. The French
arrived in New Orleans around 1480 and brought the French card game “Poque” with
them. It is a likely precursor to today's poker where the game includes bluffing
and betting. Another theory refers to the German game “Pochspiel”. This has
elements of bluffing, and when players fold, they knock on the table, which is
much like a call in today's poker.
The story of poker is more well-known in the US, the country that most people
probably associate with game. Poker travelled from New Orleans by steamboat up
the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The game was then spread via horse and wagons
and trains. Modifications such as stud poker, 5-card draw poker and straighten
grew in popularity during the civil war. In the 1830s the rules started to be
standardised as and when rulebooks were written. The game caught on quickly in
the old west. It became a great favourite in the bars, where quick-witted
players knew how to get rich quick.
Laws and regulations
Poker was the ideal game in the then wild west. You always had to
be on your guard and have a lot of self-confidence to avoid revealing your
intentions, and the game had already come into conflict with the law at this
time. In 1910 it was a crime to run betting operations in Nevada. However, the
laws against card games could not stop 5 card draw poker as the state prosecutor
in California proclaimed that this type of poker was based on skill. Stud poker
on the other hand was regarded as pure luck and was therefore made illegal. 5
card draw poker flourished and spread like wildfire. In 1931 Nevada changed the
law that prohibited gambling and became the only state in the US to allow casino
gambling. And it remained so up until 1978 when Atlantic City followed suit.
Poker is still regulated closely by a range of gambling laws, but poker is
nevertheless the most played card game in the world. Bars have made space to
include casinos, and tournaments and competitions are played around the world.
Poker today
An entirely new group of people have discovered poker thanks to the major impact online poker has had. Today, it goes without saying that Internet poker is a natural part of the game, and many of today's successful players started their careers by only playing on the Internet. Since the end of the 1990s, more and more poker rooms have been appearing on the Internet. The mass media has drawn attention to this poker trend and several TV channels today broadcast a range of poker events.
Poker Texas Hold’em
In recent years Poker
has become synonymous with Texas Hold’em (“The Cadillac Of Poker”) which is
clearly the most played poker game both online and in casinos. It is not
difficult to learn the rules, but a lot of practice and experience is then
required in order to be really good.
First betting round
The game begins with the players sitting closest to the left of the dealer
posting their small and big blinds. The player immediately to the left of the
dealer posts a small blind and the next player a big blind. These are forced
bets paid to the pot in each deal. Two cards are then dealt face down to each
player; these cards are not to be shown to anyone. These are what are known as
your hole cards. You make your decision whether to continue playing based on
these two cards.
The player to the left of the big blind (i.e. the third player after the dealer)
starts the initial round of betting.
The player can choose here if he wants to take part by calling (matching the big
blind), raising the pot (the lowest raise is the amount of the big blind) or
folding.
When the player has made his decision, it is the turn of the next player to the
left. The initial round of betting is over when all players have bet an equal
amount in the pot or have folded.
Second betting round (Flop)
When the first round of betting is concluded, the dealer deals three cards face
up - community cards - on the table. These cards are called the Flop. A second
round of betting now follows. The player betting first who is described as
“under the gun” can decide either to bet (in this round the minimum bet is the
amount of the small blind) or check. Checking means that you refrain from
raising, which is possible if nobody else has previously raised in this round.
All players may then check (if nobody before them has raised), call, raise or
fold. Normally, two or three rounds of betting are allowed in this round of
betting.
Third betting round (Turn)
When the second round of betting is concluded, the dealer deals another card
face up on the table. This card is called The Turn or 4th Street. This card is
also available to all players. The third round of betting takes place exactly in
the same way as round two and is over when everybody has bet an equal amount in
the pot, checked around the table or folded (following a player's bet).
Fourth betting round (River)
Finally a fifth community card the River is dealt, which is the last face up
card the players get to use to create their hands. A last round of betting takes
place, and the purpose is that players who have not folded are to make the best
hand possible by combining their two hole cards and the five community cards on
the table. The hand must obviously consist of five cards in total, i.e. two
cards will not be counted in the hand. The player that has the best hand wins
the pot. If there is more than one player with the same hand, the pot is split.
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