People play poker for fun during their leisure times and others have made it a profession. In many cases, people wonder if poker is about skills or luck. The answer is that more 90% of the game requires learning skills and strategies to help you win a game. This should not worry you as a beginner because you gain techniques and expertise as you interact with professionals and it is a matter of interest and time.
This article highlights the very basic and simple terms or rather concepts in playing poker which a learner should understand. There are however other terms which you will come across in this line. This game involves people and cards. The many cards should not scare you as these concepts will guide you on what should be done with them.
1. Poker Hand
Have you seen poker players having some cards all through the game? Let’s see what it is they do with them.
Players form poker hand which is normally a set of cards that are made by picking and dropping cards as they play. One set of cards is usually made by five playing cards which vary according to the rules of a specific game. Each set of cards (hand) is classified which is informed by the pattern they form. Every hand has order of priority from high to low which determines the winner.
2. Poker Ranking
The priority mentioned above, which is owned by poker hands is referred to as ranks. This is, in other words, a certain order which cards need to be arranged to make a win. Among the 52 cards in a pack, are ranked individually from high to low in the order of ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 3, 2. Every game has several unique rankings. The following are generally the rankings in poker games; Royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two pairs, Pair and High Card.
3. Poker Position
After understanding the art of lifting, dropping and arranging your cards, there is one more concept you should understand. Poker position is as simple as the place a player takes or the order in which players sit that round table. In the round table, a player has a position since the poker card game is played in a clockwise direction.
Early position is for those who play first, late position is for those who play last while the middle position is for players between the first and the last. A player has an advantage on opponent preceding him or sited to his right by “having got position”. However, he is at the same time disadvantaged in attacking the player acting after him who is sited at his left-hand side termed as out-of-position. This makes late position the best since it has an advantage on all his opponents and he is well-defined as the dealer.
Conclusion
With a clear understanding of these three terms, you will find yourself comfortably fitting in a group of poker experts since you understand what they are talking about. This insight will give you the stepping block to learning more expertise and strategies in poker.