by Dean Evert
The popularity of the card game of poker has grown tremendously since the days of the Wild West when every saloon in every town had a poker table and a game going all the time. Poker is the most popular and the most played card game than any other card game on earth. All you have to do is step in front of the television any time of the day or night, and eventually you will find a televised poker game going on, usually a tournament of some sort with all the players vying for the pot with the best poker hands they can muster.
Any game you play today has rules and regulations, and poker is no different. The basics of the more common forms of poker is that the individual cards are ranked in ascending value from 2 (low) to Ace (high); and unlike some other card games, suits have no value when ranking hands or tallying points. In lowball games of poker, where the best poker hands are the lowest valued hands (just the opposite of the traditional games of poker); Ace plays low only when you are playing lowball games in A to 5, and A to 6, and in 2 to 7 lowball the Ace plays high. But traditionally, the high cards are the Ace, then the King, Queen, Jack, and 10 in descending order; and the best poker hands are those with the highest value in the hand.
Because suits play no part in how a poker hand is evaluated, they only matter when trying to place a hand in a certain framework as in describing a flush or a straight flush. What a flush is, is 5 cards all of the same suit (like 3,6,7,8,9 of spades) and a straight flush is 5 cards in sequence all in the same suit, (like 3,4,5,6,7 of spades). If two players each hold a straight flush in different suits-say one has 2,3,4,5,6 of diamonds and the other has 2,3,4,5,6 of spades; the spades are not considered higher than the diamonds: the hands are identical in value, the outcome of the hand is a tie, and the two players must split the pot. To recognize your dealt hand as being one of the best poker hands at the table, you must understand and commit to memory what the rankings of the card combinations are and in what order. The lowest card combo ranking in poker is high cards (no pair), then 1 pair, 2 pair, 3 of a kind, Straight, Flush, Full House, 4 of a kind, and Straight Flush.
So to get the upper hand at the poker table, not only must you know what constitutes the best poker hands, but you must also know how to bid correctly on the hand that is dealt to you. Sometimes the bidding can get pretty hairy and nerve wracking because every player is trying to outwit the player sitting next to him or across the table from him, and decide if those other players really have the type of hand they seem to have because of their bidding; or are they sitting without any good cards at all and trying to take you to the cleaners by bluffing. Having a good “poker face” is mandatory, because all at the table are watching to see if your expression gives away what’s in your hand.
When it comes to playing an effective game of poker, and a winning game; nothing beats experience and learning from each hand you play; whether it is one of the best poker hands you could possibly be dealt, or it is a garbage hand with nothing but mismatched cards of low values. That old country song about a poker-playing gambler is right on the money when the lyrics say “know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run.” That’s how to perform when you are playing poker, in a nutshell. The more you play with all kinds of players, experienced and inexperienced; the more you will learn the ins and outs of the best poker hands, and what you do with good and bad hands during the bidding.
Following closely on the heels of experience is the need to be informed if you are to do well in the field you have chosen to pursue. There is no place better for informing yourself with the ins and outs of poker and what the best poker hands are, than the Internet. There are tons of sites that will help you understand the act of playing and bidding poker, as well as interactive sites that allow you to join a game in progress and sharpen your skills as you match your wits with other players around the virtual table. There is no need for money to play on these sites, and they are great places to learn and have fun.
Our world would be a very dull place indeed without card games, and when it comes to poker; no matter what type of poker it is from 5 card stud to Texas Hold ‘Em, it is the card game of choice for millions of people around the globe. Poker has spawned a lexicon of words and expressions all its own such as “poker face” and “when the chips are down”, and can be a thrilling experience for someone to sit at a poker table and immerse themselves in the fun and drama that is poker. Whether you are sitting in a game with one of the best poker hands you have ever had or playing for the very first time and are nervous as all get out; the thrill is never far away as the play progresses and with experience you will find that soon you will be a poker playing aficionado as well.