Jul 29 2008
Poker Players Speak a Funny Language
Poker players use language that could be confusing. A novice to poker might get confused when sitting down to a table of seasoned poker players. This happens because poker players use words that might make no sense at all.
The players? speech needs to be analyzed from the beginning to the end. All players of all variations of poker ante at the beginning of the game. The ante is the first amount the players bet before the cards are dealt; usually it is a very small amount.
Some variations of poker use a big blind and a small blind. As forced bets, the blinds are given by the two players to the left of the dealer going clockwise. A player will ante the same amount as the big blind if he or she decides that their hand might win.
Some of the playing cards are used by all the players in community types of poker, which has those shared cards in the middle of the table. To make a winning hand, the player uses these cards plus their two hole cards, the two that are dealt face down. The winning hand is a group of five cards that show any of the nine predetermined winning ranks, like two pairs or a flush.
The window cards are the cards that are shared between all the players in community poker. The flop is the first three of the community cards. The next card is called the turn and the last is called the river.
After the blind bets are made and the two hole cards are dealt, the player then must either bet or fold. To fold, the player hands their cards to the dealer and awaits another round. The player folds if they feel their initial two cards are not good enough to create a winning hand.
The small blind is bet by the player to the left of the dealer. Going clockwise, the dealer button is passed to each player in turn. This button shows whose turn it is to bet first.
Once the remaining players have bet, equal to the big blind, the dealer puts the flop into the window. Then the players will bet again based on their two hole cards and the flop. If the players feel those five cards will get them a win, the first person to the left of the dealer bets again.
Calling, raising or folding is what the other players must do. The player simply bets the same amount of the bet when they call a bet. The player bets the same amount as the initial bet but adds more when they are raising the bet.
The last of the betting occurs when all the window cards have been dealt, the flop, the turn and the river. A showdown happens when there is more than one player left at the end. The remaining players show their hole cards to reveal what hand they have in the showdown.
The person with the higher-ranking hand wins. The ranking of poker is a high card, a pair, two pairs, three of a kind, a flush, a straight, a full house, four of a kind and a straight flush respectively. The winner with the highest-ranking hand wins the pot and the game begins again.