Poker: Basics, Tips and Guidelines

Poker is an engaging family of card games. While a lot many people agree that poker is somewhat similar to betting, this is not always the case. Poker is the perfect combination of skills, strategy, and gambling, and this is what keeps the players hooked until the end.
The winner of the game is determined based on the combination of the cards that each player gets. There is a range of poker games available today, based on the number of cards that are dealt, the number of cards that are hidden, and the number of cards that are shared. Additionally, poker games vary on the basis of betting procedures as well.

History

Poker first came into being in the early 19th century in the United States and soon became popular. Today, it is one of the common pastimes worldwide.

The Basics of Poker

The game is played from a deck of 52 cards. However, there are some variants of the game which also use multiple packs or add some extra cards like jokers. Each card is provided with a ranking. When arranged from the highest to the lowest, the ranking order is Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2.
It is important to note here that ace can be both highest or the lowest, but it is usually ranked higher. The game makes use of four suits, and each suit is ranked same: diamonds, spades, clubs, and hearts.
Each poker hand consists of five cards, and the one with the highest hand wins.

Poker Chips

Poker chips form an important part of poker. A game with seven players will need at least 200 chips. Each chip is somehow related to the ante of the bet. A white chip, for instance, is the lowest valued chip and is equivalent to the minimum ante of the chip. Similarly, a red chip is equivalent to the value of five whites, while a blue chip might be equivalent to two or four reds.

Banker

Every poker game consists of a banker which keeps a record of the chips and monitors the number of chips issued to each player. Further, players are not allowed to make private transactions among themselves. If a player has extra chips, he may return those to the banker, and get extra cash or credit in exchange.