Kajagugu Poker - facts and news about poker
Poker as we know it can trace its origin back to North America and the early 18th century when card playing was all the rage. Based on games from Europe and the Middle East, poker emerged as a distinctly American pass time.
Steamboats on the Mississippi River and its tributaries played a major role in the developed of poker, since they allowed large-scale transport of passengers both up and down river.
These passengers needed something do entertain themselves with, and various types of gambling became extremely popular. As cities and towns began passing ordinances against gambling houses, gamblers began to actively seek out the steamboats since the waters of the Mississippi River remained unregulated. A similar situation can be seen today when nation- or statewide bans on gambling encourages gamers to seek out cruise ships offering poker and other games in international waters.
Various poker types
Most types of poker fit in to one or more of the following four basic categories.
Straight poker
Each player is dealt a complete hand, normally consisting of five cards. There will then be one betting round, followed by raising and re-raising. This is the most basic type of poker.
Stud poker
In this type of poker, cards are dealt in a prearranged combination of face-down and face-up rounds. After each deal (also known as a street) there will be a round of betting. The most well known type of stud poker is arguably Seven Card Stud, which is played in the following fashion:
1.) Two cards are dealt face down to each player. One card is dealt face up to each player.
2.) One card is dealt face up to each player. (Fourth street)
3.) One card is dealt face up to each player. (Fifth street)
4.) One card is dealt face up to each player. (Sixth street)
5.) One card is deal face down to each player. (Seventh street)
6.) Showdown
Draw poker
In draw poker, you get a chance to change your hand in hope of improving it. A complete face-down hand is dealt to each player. After a round of betting, you can elect to discard unwanted cards and receive new ones from the deck. The most well-known type of draw poker is probably Five Card Draw.
Community Card Poker
In community card poker, players are dealt an incomplete hand face-down before a series of face-up community cards are placed on the table. The famous card games Texas Hold'em and Omaha are both community card games. In Omaha, a player must use a combination of hole cards and community cards to form his or her hand. In Texas Hold'em, there is no such requirement and pots are frequently won by players using their hole cards only (e.g. a high pair).
In community card poker, there is normally a betting round after the initial deal and then new betting rounds as more and more cards are added to the table. Texas Hold'em does for instance have one betting round after the initial deal, one betting round when the first three community cards (the flop) has been placed on the table, one betting round when the fourth community card (the turn) has been unveiled and one betting round after the fifth community card (the river) has been revealed.
