Poke Theory

Although the mind-boggling varieties of poker may appear bit complex, it is really a lot easier than it may first seem. The ultimate objective of poker is to win money from the other players by placing bets on the strength of the cards that have been dealt to the players.All of the different poker games like Texas Hold'em, 7-card Stud, etc. share some basic theory elements in common.

Players are dealt cards leading sometimes to a "hand”. Out of the dealt cards some or all may be concealed. Bets are made on the strength of the cards in various betting rounds.

The hands develop as more and more cards are dealt. At last the strongest hand wins a showdown or all players but one have folded.
A knowledge of Poker Hands is too essential while playing any kind of online poker.

As regards the players, Hold'em and Omaha have 2 to 10 players, while 7-card Stud games have 2 to 8 players. A standard pack of 52 cards is used, minus jokers. The ace is the high card, but in hi/low games it could be ranked as either high or low, at either end of a card sequence. A new pack of cards is generated at random before each game, using an RNG (Random Number Generator) to shuffle the deck.

The game proceeds around the table clockwise, including the placing of bets and the dealing of cards. Each player must act in turn. There is a theoretical "dealer" denoted by a "button" or small disc which also turns around the table clockwise with each hand. When you are in the dealer position or rather "on the button", you do not, in fact, deal the cards yourself, rather you are the last player to receive your cards, and the two players to your left post the blind bets that keep the pot going. In this manner each player's relative position rotates with each hand.

Position is very significant in poker, and especially, vital in Hold'em. The later you act on your hand, the more information you can gather about the relative strengths of other players' hands. Since it is preferable to be in "late position", the dealer button rotates around the table with each hand. This ensures that each player has equal opportunities to be in late position...and to announce the blind bets.