Poker is an extremely popular family of games played by people from all walks of life, of all ages and of almost any social status. Poker is also known as holdem or seven-card stud, and was first popularized by the legendary poker player and philanthropist, William Claypool. Mr. Claypool began playing the game in the late nineteenth century and since then has played it in numerous other variations as well as in live matches. Poker is played with a deck of 52 cards, and there are two decks, each containing one half of the deck.
The two most popular variations of poker are Texas Hold’em and Five-Card Stud. A Texas Hold’em game is played in just one session, with players arranging their hands and betting accordingly. In five-card stud poker, on the other hand, a player will alternately draw from four cards of the same rank and three cards of lower rank. A full house is not folded, but remains in play after all players have folded.
If a player bets out of the house, he becomes a “full” player, i.e., he is allowed to call, raise, fold, etc., in the same way as in a regular game. If a player is raising and betting in the hopes of earning a bigger pot, he is said to be “making a lot of money”. The betting amount is usually expressed in terms of the number of “rounds” or “turns” it takes for the pot to be filled. A “flush” is the first round of betting in a game, in poker. A “full house” is the last round of betting, at which point the winning player has essentially won the pot even though he had spent more than five rounds.
Texas Hold’em rules usually require that there be an agreement between the players regarding the initial betting situation and the betting actions thereafter. In other words, before a player can act, he must have a best hand. And in Texas Hold’em, there is always at least one “deal” in a game; meaning that a player can have the best hand, after having checked both his opponents’ cards, and the dealer’s cards. That player then either calls (with the same hand), or raises, depending on his position before the dealer says, “Hang up!”
Texas Hold’em requires that a player be dealt a hand consisting of at least five cards. A straight flush refers to a hand consisting of a pair of one’s own cards and five cards from the deck, called the straight card. A full house refers to a hand consisting of a pair of two of the player’s own cards and five cards from the deck, also called the full card.
When betting round the table, each player gets five cards face down. Then, the dealer puts forth a single card, called the blind card. This card will be the first card that any player can see; it will also count as his best hand. After the blind card, each player has the opportunity to call (matching the bet made by the dealer) or raise, based on the betting round.