One of the most fun, exciting and difficult games to master, poker has always been an important part of casino life and casino culture. Master poker can see you winning a lot of money but it takes time, effort and unfortunately, if you are not a natural, you can also lose money while you are trying to learn. Understanding how the game is played is the first step of becoming better at the game. You cannot keep playing the same two hands because those are the hands you know. You need to know the ins and outs if you wish to enjoy the game to the full extent. If you do so, you might actually start seeing money come your way.
Understanding all the hands in the game will find you landing the perfect poker hand which will win you the game. The importance is patience, time and the willingness to learn. Poker players are a mix of lucky and smart. A lot of people enter casino games hoping to be lucky and win a lot of money but what they don’t know is that you learn how to play the perfect poker hand, it does not just land there. You cannot base your game solely on luck. Think about it this way, if you are playing your hard-earned money, you do not want to lose it all because someone was ‘luckier than you’. If you take your time with poker, watch some videos, read articles and books about strategy and understanding well the hands at play, you will have an edge over most of the competition.
Here we will be discussing only the hands of poker while also touching on bluffing, we will not go into strategies and other aspects of the game. It is always important to do your own research and understanding of this game because that way you can ensure you know the ins and outs of poker and even the different characters that poker players have.
Poker Hands
We will start with the strongest hand and will work our way down to the weakest hand.
Royal Flush
The name suggests it all. This hand is the strongest in all of the game. The royal flush is when you have suites an Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10. This hand is extremely difficult and rare to have, and in it being so rare, having it can give you an extremely high chance of winning the round.
Straight Flush
A straight flush is simply a five-card sequence that all belong to the same suite.
Four of a Kind
Here, out of your five cards, four of them are the same rank. For example, you can get four queens of different suites.
Full House
A full house is when out of your five cards, three of them are of the same rank and the last two are a pair of the same rank.
Flush
A flush is when you have five cards of different rank but of the same suit. The cards do not need to be in sequence.
Straight
A straight is when you have a sequence of five cards, but they are of different suits.
Three of a Kind
In this hand, three of the five cards are of the same rank, while the other two are not of the same rank.
Two Pairs
Similar to three of a kind, here two cards are of the same rank, another pair of two cards which are of the same rank.
One Pair
One pair is simply when you have two cards of the same rank.
High Card
If players do not make any of the hands written above, the round is won by the player who has the highest-ranked card. If the highest card is better than your opponents, you win. If they are the same, the comparison will move on to your secondary card.
Bluffing
A lot of the time, in poker you will not end up having the perfect poker hand so you need to fake your way to the top. You will need to force your opponent to believe that your card is better than his and this could be achieved in different ways. You could bet really high and large amounts to try and scare your opponent from betting. Here you will be trying to bluff and show that you are confident in your cards so much that you are willing to put it everything on the line and bluff your way to the perfect poker hand.
This is very hard to master, though and requires a lot of practice because, bet too high early on and they might catch your bluff, bet too high late in the round, and it might be too late, so timing is everything. Other than that, your slightest facial expressions or ticks can alarm your other opponents. Be aware that professional poker players are really good readers of facial or body expressions, they will be able to know that you do not have the perfect poker hand to win the game and will call your bluff. That is why, when you see a lot of professional poker games, some players wear glasses, hoods, masks, sometimes all three, to try to hide as much as they can their facial features.
Conclusion
This article was brief in explaining the poker hands and bluffing. Be sure to remember that the perfect poker hand is the one that wins you the game, if you keep on folding because you do not have the best hand will have you lose the game, and constantly betting because you think always have the best card will always have you lose the game. The key is balance and understanding of the game, you can fold if you are not confident, but you need to try and outsmart your opponents. Bet in a smart way, bluff in the right timely moment. All these mixed in together will have you win many rounds and ultimately the whole match.
The reason why poker matches take so long is because there are a lot of thinking involved and reading people. You should do the same! Take your time, learn the game, learn its tricks and progress in the game. Start playing in low buy-in games and slowly make your way up.
