The genesis of poker:

The exact age people actually started playing poker is heavily disputed. This game has many variations. So it is possible that it was born in several different places. It is common belief, however, that poker was invented by the Chinese way back in the 10th Century A.D.

People believe that poker came from Chinese dominoes. It is said that Emperor Mu-Tsang of China played a game of domino cards, a possible ancestor of poker, with his wife a day before the 969 A.D. new year.

Some others feel that poker in fact has its roots in as-nas, a Persian game. This game which was first played in and around the 17th century was a 5 player game and was unique in the fact that it had only 25 cards in the deck with 5 different suits.

Some others claim that “poque”, a French card game was the true ancestor of poker. It was invented in 1480 by the French who settled in New Orleans. They used the normal deck of cards.

Dawn of the Era of Online Poker.

People invented games in the bygone era which resulted in poker. Now poker itself has reinvented itself into a new form -Online Poker. People are crazy about this game which offers many advantages over normal casino poker. This craze is spreading fast among all age groups and types of people.

Best Poker sites:

The best poker site is most probably one of those listed below. Novices can view these sites to find the site that suits him/her the best to improve his poker playing.

1) The forums on CardsChat.com

This is probably the best poker playing site online. It has a forum for exclusively poker and another for other card games. Poker players can read the various topics in the forums.

www.cardschat.com is the place to go if you want an active poker forum.

2) Learn Texas Hold’em

This is easily the best online pokers site for beginners. Here there are various write-ups on hold’em, advanced poker strategies and poker rankings. There are various poker tables, tips, and even a question and answer section in the site.

www.learn-texas-holdem.com is a must visit for beginners.

3) Celebrity Poker Showdown

It is the official site of the poker program on Bravo TV. It has complete videos of games and tip for gaming. It is the most famous poker site in the world wide web. If fame was everything, this site will win hands down.

It has an interactive flash animation on playing Texas Hold’em. It also features the poker great Phil Gorden

Play poker with the celebs at www.bravotv.com/Celebrity_Poker_Showdown

4) Poker Babes

It includes the profiles of prominent poker champions. You will be shocked to see the number of women champions in this man’s game

It is the best site for women poker players. It has many perks for women players and offers them a lot of priceless tips for excelling. After all, why should boys have all the fun?

All women poker players must visit www.poker-babes.com

5) Online Poker Guru

It is indispensable for poker rules, strategies, tips and tricks. It also runs down the memory lane by presenting the history of poker and poker vocabulary. It is among the best novice sites. This site is the true guru in teaching poker for novices.

Let the Guru teach you how at www.pokeronlineguru.com

6) Poker News

This site is a strong contender for the best poker site award. It offers unbiased reviews of other poker sites and helps users to join the poker room that suits them best. This is the place you need to be in if you want to stay in touch with poker and other poker players.

Get to know the latest in poker www.pokernews.com

7) Poker terminology glossary

This site has a comprehensive list of poker slang, definitions, terms and other must-knows for basic poker play. It cannot be done without for beginners. Even experts may have to cross check with this list at times.

Learn poker slang and terminology on www.conjelco.com/pokglossary.html

Low limit Omaha

This site stands out in providing novices the various possible starting hands of poker and also gives strategies for hi/lo split low limit Omaha games.

Check out these strategies at www.lowlimitomaha.com

Strip poker is just like any other poker game. The difference in playing strip poker is that players strip items of clothing when they lose a bet. Poker developed hundreds of years ago, and strip poker originated from the basic game of poker. Because poker enables one to win while others are losing, the losers then can bet their clothing. This is to take back their cash from the winning opponent. Before, items of clothing are considered of special value.

Strip poker is played like a regular poker game. But strip poker sometimes entice non-poker players to get hooked in the game, a feat that cannot be done by regular poker games. Strip poker adds zest to a dying party. It can bring fun back to your poker games. There are as many strip poker variations as regular poker game variations.

Sometimes, strip poker is used as a kind of foreplay and sometimes it is considered as a way of flirting. Strip poker games can have speedy, medium or slow stripping modes. Excitement can either be withheld or let loose. Speedy strip poker games can start like a regular poker game, but everyone (except the winner of course) removes an item of clothing. This is a very fast way and very good excuse for stripping naked, not to mention this will give you great motivation in playing poker. Medium mode stripping in a strip poker game means that the winner is the only person who is not stripping, but the losers have the option to buy back clothes in the coming rounds. The slowest way of stripping via a strip poker game is when only the person with the lowest poker score will be the one who will strip.

There are countless variations of this game. One variation even makes use of poker chips and that when you lose all your poker chips, you will be required to bet your clothing. This is yet another slow method—if your only objective is to strip. However, stripping in a strip poker game will most likely be for the benefit of the game only, and not just about the stripping per se.

Some strip poker games have been popular. In Jamaica, there is even a strip poker international competition! They employed 4 super models to play strip poker, and the winner takes on serious money. However, this is a for adults only event. And it is very unlikely to see strip poker in the Olympic games! Although, we all know that you’d love to see strip poker players from all over the world battle out for the gold medal.

Because of strip poker’s popularity, there have been thousand of sites dedicated to the game. It can range from intimate poker play, to party poker type games. Also, because of the advent of cyber online technology, strip poker is already available online. Some strip poker games have poker chips, money bets and stripping all combined in the touch of a button, or click of a mouse. Some strip poker sites even has strippers available online. Through a hefty credit card application and registration, one can avail of hours of online strip poker gaming. Some online strip poker sites have pictures that strip as you win, but some have real time strippers that you can view stripping via a web camera. Strip poker, just like any other adult game or enterprise, is regulated in most parts of the world. Some more liberal nations, such as those in Europe have strip poker TV shows! The difference between that and American strip poker shows is that the Euro version allows total nakedness via a TV broadcast!

Whether you are playing strip poker for your foreplay, or as a form of a sexual tease, whether you are playing strip poker party version or just adding the element of stripping to a rather boring game, no one can contest the hours of enjoyment that can only be attributed to poker… Strip poker that is!

The interest of gamblers in online casinos is constantly on the increase and so is the number of casinos on the web. Online casino gambling has become a favorite pastime for many, who have come to prefer Internet casinos to traditional ones. Gambling in online casinos is often considered more appealing and comfortable, and there are also numerous other advantages for passionate gamblers. If you want to locate the best online casinos, you can browse through an online casino directory, where you will find a lot of useful information about the establishments you are interested in, including reviews, games featured, payment options or software reviews.

Beginners in online casino gambling will benefit greatly from the information about online casinos they can find in such a directory. They will be able to read reviews on top casinos, written by other gamblers who have tried them, and make up their minds as to which Internet casinos might be a good place to start. An online casino directory offers more than relevant reviews on the best online casinos; it also includes a complete beginner’s guide, with lots of useful information on how certain games are played and which online casinos have the best payouts and bonuses. Software reviews are also popular with beginners, who can choose their favorite gambling site according to the software available there.

The best way to decide among the numerous online casinos is to browse the reviews available in an online casino directory. These reviews are usually written by people who have checked out these casinos themselves. Review writers can recommend the best online casinos, because they have visited their sites and gambled there. They will include in their reviews detailed information about the games featured by Internet casinos, the offers available, as well as about the bonuses and payment options. If you are interested in online casino gambling, you can decide where to play by reading these reviews of online casinos.

Instead of spending a lot of time looking for online casinos and playing in each of them before you decide which ones you like best, you can check out the reviews on top casinos available in an online casino directory. This is a great way to save time and money, because such reviews provide not only basic information about the Internet casinos they feature, but also include comparisons among their offerings. In this way, you can find out in which online casinos you can play your favorite games, as well as other information about online casino gambling. The best online casinos are constantly reviewed, compared and contrasted, which makes it a lot easier for gamblers to decide.

When evaluating online casinos, review writers take several criteria into account. If you browse the pages in an online casino directory, you will find not only general information about the best online casinos, but also details about the games they feature and their offerings. Some facts you will surely be interested in learning when looking for information about online casino gambling include the advantages of playing at certain casinos, such as promotions and bonuses, the software used, the payout options and percentages, as well as security details when it comes to making payments. Other details about top Internet casinos can also be included in such reviews.

An online casino directory also provides the rules of the games featured by the online casinos reviewed. This is very important particularly for beginners in online casino gambling, who need to find out how certain games are played in Internet casinos. The best online casinos will certainly feature very popular games, such as blackjack, roulette, baccarat or video poker. Before deciding on the best offerings and choosing your favorite casinos on the web, you must learn the rules of your preferred games, so that you can play them to your advantage. If you haven’t made up your mind on a game yet, you can check out what is available and decide what appeals to you most.

Other types of information on online casinos are also included in an online casino directory. If you are interested in online casino gambling, you will surely want to find out details about betting systems, the software used by various casinos, as well as about payment options. The latter include information on what payment systems Internet casinos use and how they work when it comes to uploading or withdrawing money from your account. Such a directory is a valuable resource for all gamblers, because by browsing through its pages they can find out about the best online casinos and decide where they would most like to play.

If you want to know on online poker games, then online poker forums are surely your place to be. These forums will help you in discussing the strategies of playing poker online as well as share various tips on winning the game. Besides, you will also come across a large number of online poker lovers like you and make friendship with them.

There are several online poker forums that compete with one another for cash prizes. Apart from that, online poker forums are an excellent source for leagues, private buy-ins, and private free rolls. Online poker forums are also known by the name of poker discussion board.

Online poker forums will also provide you with ample information on the latest news on online poker, poker bonuses, and also poker reviews. You can clear all your doubts on online poker and gambling by visiting various online poker forums. You can be a member and share your knowledge on online poker with others.

Online poker forums are really fantastic for discussing poker and at the same time helping others on how to play the game. To be up-to-date with online poker information, these forums are simply great. There are thousands of websites on poker where you can log in to quench your thirst on this online gambling game.

Other than how to play the game, you will also get to know about the various types of poker games that are available online. These forums even inform about the biggest poker tournaments that take place throughout the year. Online poker forums are visited by thousands of poker lovers every day.

If you really want to improve your skills on online poker, these forums will surely help you in a big way. The online poker forum operators should however make sure to provide only the latest news in the world of online poker games. Apart from staying updated, you can also learn the various tricks and tips of playing the game.

You will chance upon to meet experienced players who have made it in the world of online gambling. Learn from them as to how they did it and what circumstances they had to face. Collect as much as information as possible from them on online poker game.

It is always better that you learn the game first before getting started with it. Visit online poker forums to keep yourself at par with the latest happenings in the field of online poker gambling.

Why did online poker rooms stop accepting US poker players and What happened?

President Bush On Friday October 13, 2006 signed a bill that affected online casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks, bingos whose principal purpose is to tighten security measures for the United States sea ports. Attached to that bill was a federal ban on banking institutions knowingly transferring funds to businesses or people that may conduct gambling operations in United States and areas where gambling is prohibited. Many online casinos left the United States marketplace, but, gambling at online casinos is not illegal in most of the United States.

There are 11 states; Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana (felony to play online poker), Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington (felony to play online poker) and Wisconsin that disallows gambling online, but there are 39 that have no laws against playing online poker or casino games.

Full Tilt Poker is an online poker room that allows Americans to play online poker after the United States passed the bill in October, 2006. Full Tilt Poker offers the best in online poker with world famous pros, a huge bonus, real or play money. Play poker online now, it is free to download. Try ther free online poker game 24 hours a day on state-of-the-art online poker software. Play for real money or for free in tournaments or ring games. Full Tilt Poker’s online poker room was designed by world class poker professionals, and offers you the ability to learn, chat, and play online poker with the pros.

Check out Full Tilt Poker at http://www.casinospokerrooms.com/em/fulltiltpoker.html

Absolute Poker is an online poker room that allows US poker players to play online poker after the United States passed the bill in October, 2006, and Absolute Poker are a privately held poker room so the new law does not affect their business like other poker rooms.

Online Poker for Live Players Online Poker, joining this online poker room lets you experience the excitement of playing against live players from all over the world and winning big money and prizes in our great tournaments. Real and play-money games are available and a great bonus and rewards system for everyone. Maybe you will meet Serinda Swan at a poker table? Read how to find Serinda. All you have to do is download their poker software, Log in and start playing online poker.

Check out Absolute Poker at http://www.casinospokerrooms.com/em/absolutepoker.html

UltimateBet Poker is an online poker room that allows US online poker players to play online poker after the United States passed the bill in October, 2006. Designed with the assistance of the best poker players in the world, Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke, UltimateBet provides the best poker games available on the Internet. Poker players can download the free poker software, play in free ring games and tournaments and get tips from these pros to learn the sport or to enhance their playing strategy. UltimateBet currently has over 2 million registered players.

Check out Ultimatebet Poker at http://www.casinospokerrooms.com/em/ultimatebet.html

Poker.com is another online poker room that allows US poker players to play online poker after the United States passed the bill in October, 2006.

Make your first deposit with Poker.com now and receive a 100% Bonus, up to $200 FREE. When you join Poker.com you will receive entry to the $50 New Player Freerolls every 3 hours for 4 weeks. Everyday at Poker.com tournaments they run with huge guaranteed prize pools. $50 Freeroll tournaments run every 2 hours. Plus everyday there is either a $1,000, $2,000 or $10,000 Freeroll. The Poker.com software has a range of features that are not available in any other poker software online. You can contact their player support team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through email or live chat. Every Sunday at 15:00 Poker.com runs a $10,000 Freeroll, and on the last Sunday of every month Poker.com holds a $50,000 Freeroll. Poker.com is the only poker room with instant payouts, Click2Pay and NETeller. You could win your way to the WSOP, the WPT, the Aussie Millions and more by playing their daily satellite tournaments and much more

Check out Poker.com at http://www.casinospokerrooms.com/em/poker.html

Play Online Poker at the Fastest Growing Online Poker Rooms in the World.

Not many people argue that gambling and playing at casinos is great fun, especially when you have hit a winning streak and feel yourself confident. Some casino games require skill besides luck, so you may think that more you learn these games the more you’re going to win, depending on what’s your game. Compulsive gambling and gamblind addiction makes you realize that only thing you will ever master is skill of losing your money, besides that bigger skill often means more money lost… in the long run.

Blinking slots, blackjack and baccarat tables mixed with humble atmosphere and attractive female dealers creates a mixture of seductive environment, I admit. And if you are not prepared or don’t have the knowledge of the games and the odds, you can get addicted quickly and your addiction may become a compulsive need. It does not mean you are retarded, it’s actually quite “human” and coded into us.

Gamblers Anonymous homepage describes compulsive gambling as an illness that is progressive in its nature, which can never be cured, but can be arrested. Before coming to Gamblers Anonymous, many compulsive gamblers thought of themselves as morally weak, or at times just plain ‘no good’. The Gamblers Anonymous concept is that compulsive gamblers are really very sick people who can recover if they will follow to the best of their ability a simple program that has proved successful for thousands of other men and women with a gambling or compulsive gambling problem.

Gambling can be compared with addiction to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or junk-food. It’s very often as destructive and dangerous as other addictions, often ruining relationships, careers and even ones life. It’s very important to start seeking help ASAP when you think you can’t control your gambling habit anymore!

Gamblers Anonymous say that compulsive gambler needs to be willing to accept the fact that he or she is in the grip of a progressive illness and has a desire to get well. Their experience has shown that the Gamblers Anonymous program will always work for any person who has a desire to stop gambling. However, it will never work for the person who will not face squarely the facts about this illness.

Gamblers Anonymous offers the following questions to anyone who may have a gambling problem. These questions are provided to help the individual decide if he or she is a compulsive gambler and wants to stop gambling.

TWENTY QUESTIONS

1. Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?

2. Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?

3. Did gambling affect your reputation?

4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?

5. Did you ever gamble to get money to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?

6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?

7. After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?

8. After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?

9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?

10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?

11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?

12. Were you reluctant to use “gambling money” for normal expenditures?

13. Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?

14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?

15. Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?

16. Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?

17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?

18. Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?

19. Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?

20. Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?

Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.

It is approximately two hundred years since poker has been introduced but the poker that is being called online poker is a recently introduced phenomenon. Though online poker is of recent origin, it has gained popularity at a very fast pace and is now played all over the world with a new perception.

Online sportsbooks were the first to be introduced in the internet and they were followed by many, one among them being online poker. Online casinos were also introduced in the mid 90s, the same time when sportsbooks reached the internet. Microgaming, that came up in the early 90s is a good example and has now become a casino software developer.

In 1998, Planet poker entered the scene and was the first to create an online poker gambling rooms. It was the first and the last of its kind for quite long. With passage of time, many new and big poker sites reached the net carrying a maximum rate of about 3 dollars with an initial rake of five percent. The industry was recognized only in 1998 but it noteworthy that the rates have been almost the same.

In 1999, Paradise Poker was created and this has now become the leader in industry. It was around this time that Dutch Boyd created Poker Spot.

Though Poker spot is the pioneer in running poker tournaments online, they faced whole lot of problems. The group did not collect the deposits of the players from its credit card partners. The company did not remit the winnings of the players as all deposits it held, were not returned. This resulted in their fall.

The introduction of the Netellers e-cash system has reduced the repetitions of the problems encountered by the Poker spot group in other poker players. The online poker groups are provided with funds from the Neteller system. The Netellers e-cash system frees the players from the trouble of using the wire transfer or credit card to deposit money in order to enter the poker group. This has helped in the minimization of frauds and improved the credibility of the company.

In the year 2001, online poker industry welcomed the entry of the two giant firms, Party Poker and Poker Stars. Paradise was on the lead until 2003, when they were overtaken by Party Poker due to the latter’s strategic advertising. The launch of World Poker Tour along with the Party Poker Million strategies attracted a lot of people and drove the group to success.

Chris MoneyMaker also contributed a lot to the popularity and growth of online poker. He was charged with 40 dollars to enter the poker room. He won the satellite tournament conducted by the Poker stars and was qualified for the final and the main event. He won the topmost prize of 2.5 Million dollars in a game considered to be one of the biggest of the World’s Series of Poker tournaments and in which about 839 participants had contested.

The creation of the site www.pokertips.org made online poker more accessible to all people especially to those who were new to the field of online poker. In 2004, that is one year after the launch of the site, the game became very popular with the fascinating story of Mr. Moneymaker adding another feather to its cap. The companies pocketed huge amounts and there were other entrants like Noble Poker and the Full Tilt Poker to the industry as well.

Sportingbet , a listed sportsbook acquired Paradise Poker and this contributed to the growth of gambling industry. A lot of companies considered listing in the stock market as it helped them get funds to aid expansion of their business.

The United Kingdom has passed a legislation which states that gambling is legal.

Today we have a lot of sites that educate people who are new to the industry on the game. They aid in developing the skills of the beginners and making them professionals. Here are a few books on online poker: the Super System which is by Doyle Brunson, the Hold ‘em Poker for the Advanced Players and this is by Sklansky,Malmuth, the Killer Poker which is by John Vorhaus and Texas Holdem which is by Ken Warren. You are advised to learn the basic skills and the poker theory from experts.

Some of the best Online Poker Sites

Texas Holdem Poker

StudStrategy

Low Limit Omaha

Poker School Online at www.pokerschoolonline.com

Ichiban Poker

Poker Performance Psychology

PlayWinningPoker.com and www.playwinningpoker.com

The Gamblers Edge at www.thegamblersedge.com

Poker Pro Association

Low Limit Holdem at www.lowlimitholdem.com

PokerStrategy

Poker Pages at www.pokerpages.com

Why gamble and why don’t?

Most people are unhappy about being labeled as gamblers since the disgrace would forever harass them. People have several reasons regarding the sport of gambling. Few gamble for fun, some to forget problems, another few to just pass the time. There are people who gamble seriously and there are others who are simply addicted to gambling.

Gambling is not all that downbeat, if you realize that there certain untapped benefits from gambling which are not very visible and are beyond the race track or the walls of casino or even bingo social hall.

Employment

The employment ratio attributed to the existence of casinos in Las Vegas is around 60 percent. One would not be able to perceive the situation if the casinos suddenly stopped functioning.

Entertainment

Gambling is no doubt the essence of entertainment provided people limit themselves and sprinkle discipline within them. Some people are too optimistic about recovering all their lost cards in the next game and hence continue the game. These constitute hardly a quarter of the gambling population who are not responsible enough and get into indecent gambling.

However there is the other 75 percent of population who gamble responsibly. They are those who know the entertainment value of gambling and never get into opinions where they are blinded to make huge money the very first time they hit the card!

It is a sad fact that only a very minor portion of gamblers realize how destructive gambling can ever get. It is true that friends, families, jobs, properties, crime etc saturate the destruction brought by gambling when there is no application of self discipline.

Charity Work

The winnings coming from gambling tricks and activities have donated the much required financial resource for every worthy cause. Lotteries and Bingos are being utilized in many cases in a way that every win contributes a percentage of jackpot reward to various charity institutions.

At times celebrities manifest their competence in different games such as the card game of poker in a way that the audience is entertained and the winnings go towards the charitable organizations they represent.

Health benefits

Studies have revealed that population which is 65 years or older who gamble have considerably fewer reports of health issues be it depression, alcoholism or bankruptcy. They find gambling very therapeutic as in a way it keeps them alert by exercising their mind.

Retiree gamblers are most often recreational gamblers who value the entertainment quotient of gambling. It was concluded that they stay healthy because they begin by being healthy and not because of gambling.

To conclude, it is not just the act of gambling that develops as harmful or beneficial to any individual. It is but the resolution of the individual which would help him rule excessive gambling rather than excessive gambling ruling up on him.

Here are some tips to help you to determine if an online casino is honest or if there is a good chance they are just going to steal your money.

Online Casino Technology:

Even though there are thousands of online casinos there are only a few companies that write the online casino programs. These are the online casinos you want to risk your money, the other online casinos may be legitimate, but all the most reputable online casinos use these programs. You can find out who wrote the online casino software by checking out the website. If it is not mentioned on the homepage you can find it in the about us or the FAQ sections of the online casino site. If it is not mentioned on the site you can always send the casino an email asking them. If they do not reply you should not gamble your money there.

Judging a Casino by its Cover:

Online casinos and poker rooms bring in millions of dollars a year. If you go t a casinos website and the site itself looks cheap and poorly designed or if the different menus do not work properly if may be a sign that the casino is less then the best and maybe this is a fly by night operation and after you deposit your money with them they may disappear. This may just be a new online casino, and they do not have the money for a good web designer, but I recommend only playing in a well established online casino or poker rooms. This will ensure that the casino you play in will be honest and all you have to worry about is collusion and web hackers, but that is a different story completely.

Chat Rooms and Forums:

Before playing in any online casino or poker room I recommend that you go to some chat rooms and forums that talk about online casino gambling; look for posts talking about the online casino you are thinking about opening a player account with and see what other players have to say about that casino. Chances are you will find some good posts about any online casino and poker room no matter how dishonest they are just because the people who work for that casino probably spam the forums with good reviews for their casino, but if most of the comments are bad or if you can not find any posts at all about a particular online casino or poker room then I recommend you pick a different online casino and poker room.

Google It:

Type in the name of the online casino and the word review after it; most online casinos have been reviewed at least a dozen times and you should be able to read some reviews immediately if it is a legitimate online casino or poker room.

Security:

Most reputable online casinos will offer their customers the best and most up to date security possible. This is to ensure that the online casino is safe from hackers that would want to break in and drain money from the casino, and to make sure the casino is safe from collusion. This is when two or more players work together to win money from the casino or from the other players in the poker rooms.

The best way to ensure your self a safe online gambling experience is to fully investigate the online casino or poker room you are thinking about depositing your money into before you even open your account. This will save you from most problems down the road.

If you want to become a serious poker player online or offline, you need to know the poker, hand rankings or you not know if you have a good hand or a bad hand. Of course, if you are use to playing with friends at home, you are more than likely not playing by the rules that are seen at casinos. All casinos, poker rooms online, and offline play by the same rules.

The first thing you must know is that all 52 cards are used to play poker in most cases; however, the joker may or may not be used. The joker is often only seen in Draw Poker games and is not used in Texas Hold’em, other hold’em games, and stud poker.

Cards are ranked from highest to lowest with the Ace at the top. The King, Queen, and Jack come next in that order and then 10 all the way down to the 2 often referred to as the deuce. The Ace can be used at the top or the bottom as a one for straights or even for the lowest card.

In practically all poker games, only the five best cards are counted even if you are playing a seven-card game. Here is the breakdown so you will know if you have a good hand.

If a joker is in play, the best hand a person can have is a five of a kind with five Aces at the top of the list. If no joker is in play, the best hand is the straight flush. A straight flush is five cards of the same suit such as all spades, all hearts, all clubs, or all diamonds. Of course, the cards must be in order to be a straight such as five diamonds from 5 to 10. A Royal Flush is the best hand, which includes the Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten.

Four of a kind comes next. All four cards must be the same card, such as all tens, kings, etc… with the higher the card ranking the better. The best of course would be four Aces.

Next is the Full House. A full house is three cards that have the same rank and then a pair. The higher the three cards the better such as 3 Kings and 2 5’s. Of course, the person with the higher three cards will beat other players.

The flush is next. A flush is cards of the same suit, but not in order. This means you can have five hearts of any rank. The person with the highest rank card will win if everyone has a flush.

The straight is next with five cards in order from various suits. This means you can have 1 ace space, 1 diamond king, 1 heart queen, 1 club jack, and 1 spade 10. The suit does not matter.

Three of a kind means the same card such as all three kings. The next is a two pair of the same such as 2 Aces and 2 fives. The last one is one pair such as 2 tens.

Of course if no one has any of the above, the person with the highest card will win the hand.