Online Poker

Silversands Online Casino - Play in South African Rands

Best Casinos Online Poker and Poker Games

Best Casinos guides you to the fastest growing pastime on the net today, multiplayer online poker games. Much the same as Online bingo, but very unlike an online casino, the house does not have an edge here, you are playing against real people. The house gets its cut for providing the facilities but it is up to the players to fund the game. Friends get together to play online poker without even leaving their homes! The game is now so popular that its not uncommon to find hundreds and even thousands of players online. This means that you can find a game that is likely to suite your pocket. Most of the online poker rooms also provide a full set of rules and even some strategy to assist you in getting good online gaming pleasure.

Online Poker for Beginners

The focus here is on the 6 main games being Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Seven-Card Stud, Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo, and Five-Card Stud. One of the things that a poker player has to know is the very basics of the game. The odds of drawing a card, at the right time. Some of these strategies involve great depth of study, certainly more content than you would be prepared to read here.

The Significant Six

  • Texas Hold’em
  • Omaha
  • Omaha Hi-Lo
  • Seven-Card Stud
  • Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo
  • Five-Card Stud

Texas Hold’em

Texas Hold’em Poker is one of the fastest and most popular games in a poker room. The object of the game is to finish with the best poker hand, and win the pot. Two cards are dealt to each Player (these are called pocket cards), and then 5 community cards are deal by the dealer. The player needs to make the best hand available out of the total 7 available cards. A round of betting precedes each community card.

Strategies

To improve your chances of winning, use the following strategies:

  • Five of the total seven cards are view-able on the second round of betting. This gives you a good idea of how strong your final hand could be
  • To complete a possible winning combination, it is important to consider how the five community cards interact with your hidden hand
  • Fold when necessary. You haven’t lost much if you have a worthless hand and decide to fold early in the game

Omaha

Omaha Poker is similar to Texas Hold’em Poker in that it is also a community game. Players must create the best five-card hand combination from a total of nine cards. The nine cards are made up of four pocket cards and five community cards. This results in stronger hand combinations. A player’s hand must be made up of 2 pocket cards and 3 community cards.

Omaha Hi-Lo

Omaha Hi-Lo Poker is a variation of Texas Hold’em Poker. In Omaha Hi-Lo Poker, the highest and lowest hands split the pot equally. 4 pocket cards and 5 cards community cards are dealt. Winning hands must consist of two pocket cards and three community cards. A low hand can only win if all the cards in the hand have a value of 8 or less.

Seven-Card Stud

Seven Card Stud Poker has five rounds of betting. This leads to large pots. Seven Card Stud Poker is a game that requires patience and skill, in knowing when to fold or call. Each player is dealt three cards, two pocket cards and one visible card. The Player with the lowest card must bring-in the betting. Rounds of betting precede the Dealer giving each player three more up cards and one more down card. A final round of betting occurs after the last card, and the Player with the highest five card hand wins using any five of their seven cards.

Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo

Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Poker is based on Seven Card Stud Poker, except Players play for two pots – the best low hand and the best high hand. Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Poker has five rounds of betting.

Five-Card Stud

In this game, Each Player is dealt two cards, one pocket card and one visible card. The Player with the lowest card showing must bring-in the betting. In the second round, another visible card is dealt to all Players at the table. A round of betting follows. This process continues until each player has one pocket card and four visible cards.

Poker Hands and their ranking (Strongest to weakest)

Royal Flush

Royal Flush:

This is the supreme hand – Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten all of identical suit.p

Straight Flush

Straight Flush:

Any five card sequence in the same suit, ranked by the highest card.

Four of a kind

p

Four of a kind:

Four cards of the same index.

Full House

Full House:

Three of a kind and a Pair. Ties are broken by the value of the Three of a kind first, then by the Pair.

Flush

Flush:

Five cards of the same suit. When flushes tie, follow the High Card rule.

Straight

Straight:

Five sequence cards of different suits, ranked by the highest card. In the case of a tie, the pot is split.

Three of a kind

Three of a kind:

Three cards of the same index. If there is a tie, follow the High Card rule.

Two Pair

Two Pair:

Two separate Pairs. The Pair with the highest value is used to determine the winner. If the high Pairs are the same, use the second pair, followed by the High Card rule to break the tie.

One Pair

One Pair:

A pair of cards. High Card breaks the tie.

High Card

High Card:

If no-one has a pair or better, then the highest card wins. In the case of a tie, look at the second highest, then the third and so on. The high card rule is also used to break ties when two or more players have the same hand.