Paul and Dorothy are the typical middle-aged British couple. They believe everything needs to be done in the 'propah' way. They have been churchgoing all their lives and would never have dreamt of doing the so called sinful act of 'Gambling'. But all that changed when they went on a holiday to Las Vegas. They so much enjoyed playing Poker and Blackjack, that today they are regular players of online Poker and online Blackjack. So what got them so addicted to these games? Poker is a card game in which players bet into a communal winning pot during the course of a hand, and in which the player holding the best hand at the end of the betting wins the pot. During a given betting round, each remaining player in turn may take one of these four actions; Check - a bet of zero that does not forfeit interest in the pot; Bet or raise - a nonzero bet greater than preceding bets that all successive players must match or exceed or else forfeit all interest in the pot; Call - a nonzero bet equal to a preceding bet that maintains a player's interest in the pot; Fold - a surrender of interest in the pot in response to another player's bet, accompanied by the loss of one's cards and previous bets. Betting usually proceeds in a circle until each player has either called all bets or folded. Different poker games have various numbers of betting rounds interspersed with the receipt or replacement of cards. Though basically a card game, but poker isn't just a card game - it is many card games. The majority of poker games do share some common features, especially betting in rounds and the ranking of hands. Poker is commonly played in cardrooms, often within the luxurious interios of any top class casino and in private home games. The games played in cardrooms seem to divide into stud games, draw games, and flop games. Poker is usually played with a 52-card pack, but a joker or other wild cards may be added. The ace normally plays high, but can sometimes play low. At the showdown, those players still remaining compare their hands according to the following rankings: Straight flush - Five cards of the same suit in sequence, such as 76543 of spades. Ranked by the top card, so that AKQJT also called a royal flush. The ace can play low to make 5432A, the lowest straight flush.
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Four of a kind - four cards of the same rank accompanied by a "kicker", like 44442. Ranked by the quads, so that 44442 beats 3333K, and then ranked by the side card, so that 4444K beats 4444Q. Full house - Three cards of one rank accompanied by two of another, such as 777JJ. Ranked by the trips, so that 44422 beats 333AA, and then ranked by the pair, so that 444AA beats 444KK. Flush - five cards of the same suit, such as AJ942 of diamonds. Ranked by the top card, and then by the next card, and so on for all five cards, so that AJ942 beats AJ876. Suits are not used to break ties. Straight - Five cards in sequence, such as 76543. The ace plays either high or low, making AKQJT and 5432A. "Around the corner" straights like 32AKQ are usually not allowed. Three of a kind - Three cards of the same rank and two of different ranks, such as KKK84. Ranked by the triplets, so that KKK84 beats QQQAK, and then ranked by the two kickers, so that QQQAK beats QQQA7. Two pair - Two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank and a kicker of a third rank, such as KK449. Ranked by the top pair, then the bottom pair and finally the kicker, so that KK449 beats any of QQJJA, KK22Q, and KK445. One pair - Two cards of one rank accompanied by three kickers of different ranks, such as AAK53. Ranked by the pair, followed by each kicker in turn, so that AAK53 beats AAK52. High card, any hand that does not qualify as one of the better hands above, such as KJ542 of mixed suits. Ranked by the top card, then the second card and so on for all five cards, as for flushes. Suits are not used to break ties. Such matchups are only possible in games where there are wild cards or where community cards are shared, such as Texas Holdem. Suits are not used to break ties, nor are cards beyond the fifth; only the best five cards in each hand are used in the comparison. In the case of a tie, the pot is split equally among the winning hands. Another very popular game is one in which the number of cards total 21, called Blackjack. It is a very exciting game to play. It is normally played in the casinos, and is very much a casino table game. However, a popular internet version called online Blackjack is widely played. Today sites such as Casino on the net offer a range of option to play Online Blackjack. One can download the software from the internet and then pay to play. Or one can directly pay and play online in the Flash version of Blackjack. Online poker is also available in different options. These include Texas Hold-em, 7 Studs and Omaha High. Today one does not need to dress nattily and waste time and money traveling to good casinos in the poshest parts of the world, to enjoy playing online poker and online blackjack. With the sheer power of the internet these can be played very easily in the comfort of our homes, just like Paul and Dorothy. Wish you all the best and lots of winnings in your game. |
