Poker is a card game with many variations that features hidden hands and betting on who has the best, or highest, hand in a shared ranking system with a Royal Flush at the top and a pair at the bottom. This game is played through a series of hands, in each of which has a different dealer and a winner who takes the pot for that hand. This game is known to be cut-throat, but it has also become a lifestyle for many.



The game of Poker, as said, has many variations, but the basic play is simple: A dealer, identified by a white chip (called a button or a buck) being passed around, shuffles the cards and distributes them out to the players one at a time until each player has the required number (usually five or seven, depending on the game). Forced betting occurs as each player automatically throws a minimum bet into the central pot. The game goes through a pre-determined number of rounds, with each player betting, “cashing in” old cards for new ones, calling on a raised bet of another player, or folding, which means that a player surrenders the cards and the pot and sits out for the rest of the hand. At the end, the player with the highest-ranking hand, or the one who has bluffed every other player to fold with a strategically deceived quality of his/her hand, wins the entire pot. The next game then proceeds by shifting to the left . . . .









Other variants of poker are: draw poker, stud poker, community card poker, five-card draw, seven-card stud, and Texas Hold ‘em. The basic process described above is commonly shared among all of these Poker variations.



Unbeknownst by many, a plethora of jargon has been incorporated into the everyday conversation of American English. Many terms and phrases, like ace in the hole, ace up one’s sleeve, beats me, blue chip, call one’s bluff, cash in, high roller, pass the buck, poker face, stack up, up the ante, when the chips are down, and wild card have all come from Poker.



Like any game, Poker takes skill. This game also requires being able to read the other players to win. Poker has had professional tournaments since the 1970s; a couple of the more prominent are the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the World Poker Tour. These tournaments are high stakes and usually powerfully charged.

By: Herbert Sanchez -

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