Your Indispensable Guide to Online Poker 2023

Poker is widely considered to be the most America of casino card games, but did you know that it has a history inspired by a number of great civilizations going back more than a millennium? Some believe poker's beginnings were a Persian game called "As Nas," which was played in the 16th century, while others say it dates back to the Song Dynasty in 10th century China.

Modern-day poker is closely linked to "Poque," which - you guessed it - comes from 17th century France, the source for most of today's casino games. Like craps, roulette, and other Vegas favorites, Poque was brought to New Orleans by French settlers and spread up the Mississippi River with the famous riverboats during the 18th century. In the Wild West of America, it developed into something resembling the modern versions of the game.
Poker's first boom came during the American Civil War from 1861-65. It was during this time that many of the additions that still stand today were made, such as draw poker, stud poker (five-card poker), and the straight. Innovations continued throughout the late 19th and early 20th century, with the introduction of the wild card, lowball and split-pot poker, and community card poker.

Texas Hold'em only rose to prominence in the 1970s but has since become the dominant version of poker. As its name suggests, the game was invented in the southern Texan town of Robstown in the early 20th century and was only introduced to Las Vegas in 1967. For the first few years, casino goers could only play Texas Hold'em at one Vegas establishment, a seedy little casino called The Golden Nugget. In 1969, a Texas Hold'em tournament was held in the Dune Casino lobby. As this hotel was located right on The Strip, it attracted high rollers for the first time.
The big break for Texas Hold'em came in 1970 when gambling moguls Benny and Jack Binion bought the rights to the Gambling Fraternity Convention, changed its name to the World Series of Poker, and brought it to Binion's Horseshoe. In 1971, the second year of the WSOP, they made the main event a game of no-limit Texas Hold'em. The rest, as they say, is history.

WSOP attracted only a few entrants in its early years, but as it grew in popularity, Texas Hold'em quickly outgrew other poker variants in popularity. Names like Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim became known in households around the USA, as their victories captured the public's imagination and their books helped laymen learn basic poker strategies. The game continued to grow through the 80s and 90s, featuring in movies, documentaries, and friendly poker nights around the world.
The second big break for poker came with the rise of the Internet. Amateurs were playing online poker as early as the mid-90s. However, the big boom came when Chris Moneymaker won the $2.5 million World Series of Poker Main Event in 2003 - becoming the first player to do so after qualifying at an online poker site. His win shows tens of millions of aspiring poker players around the world that you don't need a massive bankroll to become a poker star.

As you would expect for a game that has so many variations and has been influenced by multiple cultures, poker is rich in unique terminology. The terms below are a basic part of Texas Hold'em, but many can be used in other poker games.

Ante: A minimum amount that each player must put into the pot before a new game begins. This is sometimes used in Texas Hold'em.

Bad Beat: Losing a hand that you would have been strong favorite to win. For example, losing a hand in which you hold pocket Aces and the other player holds pocket 3s, but they win by hitting another 3 on the river.

Blinds: Forced bets depending on your position to the dealer. The person to the left of the dealer puts down a small blind, while the person two to the left puts down the big blind.

Bluff: Betting on a weak hand in order to encourage players with potentially stronger hands to fold. A good poker player is often defined by how well they can bluff their way out of a weak hand.

Buy-in: The chips which players purchase in order to participate in a poker game.

Chips: Gaming tokens, effectively poker currency.

Community Cards: The cards that are dealt face-up to be used by all players. In Texas Hold'em, there are five community cards.

Flop: The first round, in which three community cards are dealt face-up on the table.

Flush: Five cards of the same suit.

Flush Draw: A hand in which you have four of the five cards you need for a flush, needing only one more card of that suit to complete the flush.

Hole Cards: Your own two cards, which should only be seen by you and not by the other players.

Pair: Two cards of the same value, such as two 4s or two Kings.

Pot: All the money that has been bet on a hand.

Rake: The House commission from every pot. As poker is a game in which players compete against each other, the House earns its take from the rake.

River: The fifth and final community card to be dealt.

Round of Betting: Players have four options each betting round: check, call, raise or fold.

Royal Flush: Ace high straight in which all cards of the same suit - Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten of hearts, diamonds, clubs or spades. This hand cannot be beaten.

Straight: Five consecutive cards of any suit, such as Jack, 10, 9, 8 and 7.

Trips: Three-of-a-king, e.g. three Jacks or three 4s.

Turn: The dealing of the fourth community card.

Texas Hold'em is the primary version of poker played today in most land-based and online casinos. It has also gained worldwide popularity through the television of the World Series of Poker, World Poker Tour, and other global poker tournaments. Its rules are as follows:
The dealer begins by shuffling a standard 52-card deck. At casinos, the dealer is a non-playing casino employee, but in friendly games, the dealer can be one of the players. In either case, a "dealer button" moves clockwise from player to player after each hand in order to keep track of who posts blinds.
Before each hand, the player to the left of the dealer button posts a small blind (half the minimum bet), and the player two to the left of the dealer posts a big blind (minimum bet). Then the dealer deals each player their two "hole cards" face down.

A round of betting is held, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind and continuing in that direction. Each player has four choices: check (means adding no further money if the player's bet already matches the maximum bet), call (add more to the pot to match the maximum bet on the table), raise (bet more than the maximum bet) or fold (quit this hand, forfeiting any money they may have already bet).
Next is the flop: the dealer "burns" the top card on the deck in case anyone accidentally saw it and then flips three "community cards" on the table. Another round of betting takes place, involving all players who are still in hand and beginning with the player to the left of the dealer button. Once again, players have four options: check, call, raise or fold.

This continues with the turn and the river: After the turn (fourth community card), players engage in another round of betting. After the river (fifth and final community card), the players engage in the final round of betting.
If two or more players are still in the game after the turn, the dealer turns over the five community cards, and the winner is determined. Players can use any combination of seven cards (their two-hole cards and five community cards) to form the best possible five-card hand. The player with the best hand wins, taking all the money in the pot.

The best hands follow this descending order:

Royal Flush: Ace-high Straight Flush

Straight Flush: Hand containing five consecutive cards of the same suit.

Four of a kind: Hand containing four cards of the same rank (such as four queens or four 9s) and one other card.

Full House: Hand containing three cards of one rank and two of another rank.

Flush: Hand containing five unmatched cards of the same suit.

Straight: Five cards of sequential rank but with at least one that is not of the same suit.

Three of a kind: Hand in which three cards have the same rank, and two do not.

Two pairs: Hand in which there are two pairs of cards with the same rank and one other card.

Pair: Hand in which two of the cards have the same rank as each other.

High Card: If nobody has any of the above cards, the game is won by the player with the highest single card (beginning with Ace).