Poker

Free Poker at Bodog Poker
Play free poker at Bodog Poker. Try your hand against other players, once you’ve had enough practice you can play for real money!

Daily Poker Tournaments at Bodog Poker
Bodog Poker is proud to offer daily poker tournaments including guaranteed pots of $100,000 regardless of how many players compete!

Background

Poker refers to a class of card games that includes hundreds of variations. They all trace back to the 18^th-century French game known as Poque, which became the rage in saloons and gambling halls of America’s Old West. Every game of Poker can be classified into one of two groups: “Closed” games in which all of a player’s cards are hidden from opponents, such as Jacks or Better Draw Poker, and “Open” or so-called “Stud” games in which one or more cards are dealt face up and revealed to everyone, as in Texas Hold’em.

Requirements

Casino chips or Poker chips, a single deck of 52 playing cards, and from two to ten players. A dedicated dealer is common in casinos, which take a small commission called the “rake” from every “pot” (all of the chips bet on one hand). In social games, the deal usually rotates among the players. Poker tables typically have no markings, just a surface of green felt. Optional equipment includes a tray for discards and a marker called the “button” to indicate who the dealer is for each hand. 

Objective

Participants play directly against one another in an attempt to win the “pot” by holding the strongest poker hand (for rankings, see “How to Play” below).

Betting

Wagering starts in one of three ways: an “Ante” in which all players contribute an equal amount to the pot; one or more “Blinds” in which a designated position relative to the dealer must make a forced bet of a specified amount; and in some Stud games, a “Come On” in which the player revealing the highest or lowest card at the beginning must make a forced bet of a specified amount. Thereafter, during betting rounds, players may “check” to defer betting, “open” to start the betting, “call” to match a bet, “raise” to increase a bet, or “fold” to drop out of the hand, sacrificing any amount previously contributed to the pot 

Minimums and maximums are set as part of the House Rules. Games can be played with a “Limit” in which the amount of each bet cannot exceed a fixed amount, with a “Pot Limit” that allows wagers of any amount up to the current size of the pot, or with “No Limit,” which has no maximum other that the amount of chips a player can contribute to the pot. Most money games of Poker are played as “table stakes,” meaning only whatever chips are on the table at the start of a hand may be used for wagering, with no credit, IOUs, or purchase of additional chips allowed after the hand begins.

Payouts

The winner of the hand takes the pot—all of the chips contributed for the hand. Exceptions are “split pot” games, such as Omaha Hi-Lo, in which the best and worst Poker hands divide the pot equally, and “all in” games, where a winning player may take from the pot no more than the amounts contributed in the course of matching his/her wager; any excess wagered subsequently is claimed as a “side pot” by the player with the second highest hand. 

How to Begin 

The button is placed in front of the player responsible for the deal or who would be dealing if a dedicated dealer were not used. Antes or Blinds must be added to the pot before the dealing begins. Depending on the specific game played, the dealer will distribute from two to eight cards to each player, clockwise from the player to the left of the button, face up or down according to the House Rules.

How to Play 

All Poker games are divided into rounds of wagering, called “betting intervals” or “rounds,” and dealing, when more cards are received and/or turned over for all to see. Following the last round of betting, the remaining active players reveal their cards in what is known as the “showdown.” With the exception of “lowball” games (where the worst hand wins), the winner is the player whose hand ranks highest according to the following order, from best to worst: 

1. Royal Flush – The A-K-Q-J-10 of the same suit.

2. Straight Flush – Five cards in sequence, all in the same suit.

3. Four of a Kind – Four cards of the same rank, one in each of the four suits.

4. Full House – Three matched cards of one rank and two of another rank.

5. Flush – Any five non-sequential cards of the same suit.

6. Straight – Any five unsuited cards in sequence.

7. Three of a Kind – Three cards of the same rank (a “set” or “trips”).

8. Two Pair – Two matching cards of a higher rank and two of a lower rank.

9. One Pair – Two cards of the same rank.

10. High Hand – Any five unmatched cards, with Ace being highest, King next, etc.

How to Win

Much has been written on Poker strategy. Players who win consistently are those with experience in playing in all situations, a good memory for what cards have been played, familiarity with Poker odds, shrewd money management skills, and the ability to “read” other players. The latter refers to identifying personality traits or behaviors (aka, “tells”) that imply the relative strength of a player’s hidden cards. Bluffing is also a big part of winning Poker—the ability to convince other players to fold and let the bluffer claim the pot unchallenged, without revealing the winning hand. A certain amount of luck is involved in playing Poker, but it is basically a skill game in which good players win and poor players pay dearly for their lessons.