Media have recently started comparing eSports’ rise to the one that poker witnessed many years ago. Therefore, players worldwide strongly believe that eSports and poker go perfectly hand in hand considering they both are appealing to players that appreciate exciting gambling sessions and developing strategies.
However, poker has been around much longer and therefore its popularity around the world is well-established. Namely, the card game of poker was first mentioned back in the 19th century as a game that requires strategy, but where luck plays a huge role as well. Throughout the years the game evolved into numerous variants that have created an impressive family of poker games that can easily either earn players unimaginable prizes or quickly empty their bankroll.
So, the main question regarding any game is related to how the game works, what are its rules and how the gameplay evolves. When it comes to poker, answering all these questions is quite easy since the game isn’t too complicated and offers generally fast-paced sessions. Namely, a game of poker starts by players joining a table; once all have taken their seats (literal or virtual), cards are dealt and players are often forced to place their initial bet. Whether they can see the cards and choose to place initial bets or not depends on the poker variant played.
The number of cards used in the game, as well as the number of cards dealt to players and placed on the table also depends on the poker variant. Thus, sometimes players are given five cards, while other times they receive only two cards and then three cards are placed face-up on the table. Depending on the poker game, the action progresses in different ways; players can either replace some cards or request additional cards to be dealt to them. Also, if there are cards on the table, additional cards may be added after each round of calling, folding or increasing bets.
As was already mentioned, once the action starts players can enter the game by placing an initial bet. Afterwards, they can stay in the game by simply calling if no bet increase occurred. In case other players have increased the betting amount, the player can either follow them or fold i.e. leave the game and lose their bet. A player also can be the one that increases the betting amount and then wait for all the other players to either follow or fold. As long as there are at least two players in the game, the action continues.
In case all players except for one fold, that person is considered the winner and takes the prize pot. In case two or more people remain in the game until all rounds are over, they must show their cards and the one with the best hand wins. Poker hand rankings are overviewed in the following subheading.
Poker hand is the combination of cards a player holds in their hand. There are numerous types of hands, but not all of them have the same value. The strongest poker hand is five of a kind and it includes four identical cards and a joker, but this is found only on rare poker variants that are played with the joker cards. The second and the third strongest hands in poker are royal flush and straight flush; four of a kind comes next and it is followed by full house. Flush and then straight are next on the list of strongest poker hands, whereas three of a kind and two pairs come afterwards. Finally, the list ends with one pair and high card.
Online poker is poker played via the Internet, from the comfort of your home. It is offered at numerous online gambling destinations worldwide and provides the ultimate poker experience regardless your location. This way of playing poker has proven popular among people worldwide because it makes the game accessible, cheaper to play and cheating-free.
The gameplay is pretty much the same as playing poker in brick-and-mortar casinos; the main difference, aside from playing from the sofa, is the fact that you are playing with virtual cards and the cards are dealt by the software. Players take actions by clicking on various buttons and place bets by dragging the virtual chips at the appropriate place. The winners are automatically calculated by the software and all winnings and losses are automatically credited or removed.
When talking about online poker, players must have in mind that there are poker sites where they play true poker against other players or virtual poker against the software. Thus, the offer of poker variants may widely differ, depending on where you play the game.
Nevertheless, at true poker sites the usually-featured poker variants include:
Within these categories there are plenty of other variants, but you can generally classify most of the poker games like this.
Everyone agrees that poker tournaments are possibly the best thing about poker because of their juicy pot prizes and thrilling action. Therefore, online players can join a wide range of popular online poker tournaments whose pots sometimes offer million-dollar prizes. The tournaments are usually pre-scheduled and may either be free to enter or include an entrance fee. Also, they may offer a single main prize that goes to a single winner or have a list of rewards reserved for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place as well as for as many as 50 or 100 players. Most popular online poker tournaments are the multi-table and the sit’n’go tournaments.
Getting started at an online gambling destination that features poker is quite easy. Players should only pay attention when choosing the operator and stick to licensed and reputable ones; other than that, the process is quick and simple. Once a player knows which site they want to join, they should first register a profile by completing a short form with personal details such as name, surname, e-mail address etc.
Once these steps are completed, the real action is about to begin. The player can now visit the poker games menu and pick the one they prefer the most. Naturally, before joining a table they should check out the betting limits and the number of free seats. When they click on a poker room, the software automatically loads a playing screen with various playing options and playing chips. From that moment on, the player can actively enjoy the poker action by placing bets, increasing bets, calling or folding.
Every person that is new to the world of online poker has doubts when it comes to safety and fairness. However, these two issues are taken very seriously by reputable poker providers, which do everything in their power to provide users with a safe and fair gambling environment.
In terms of safety, providers often hold gambling licenses and certificates that guarantee the site’s security and safety standards. Therefore, joining a poker site that operates under the jurisdiction of UK, Gibraltar or Malta means that the company has received the approval of one or more of these regulating bodies i.e. they meet all their strict requirements regarding encryption, policy privacy etc.
Similar to the topic of safety, fairness is often regulated and audited by official bodies or independent agencies. Popular names when it comes to fairness are eCOGRA and iTech Labs; both of these agencies test and approve the random number generator that provides the online poker outcomes. Thus, reputable poker operators guarantee their players that each and every poker session is 100% fair and unpredictable.
