Explore the Beauty of Poker

So it all started one year ago. I was sitting idle on my rocking chair. A very close friend of mine called and he suddenly threw this random question on me,” What do you think of poker?” Me, who never would have guessed this question, was speechless for a second. After that, he repeated the question to me. I answered with the most little knowledge that I had it’s a card game. He didn’t even wait for me to answer the question and said: “I have developed a great interest in poker these days, I enjoy it a lot”. This made me curious and I started researching about it, to gather as much information as I can.

Poker is a game that requires your skills and a little luck, as said by Phil Hellmuth, “Poker is 100% skill and 50% luck.” Poker is a vast subject. A person requires a lot of knowledge and skills to be good at it.

Once Pablo Picasso said “Beauty… To me, it is a word without sense, because I do not know where its meaning comes from nor where it leads to.” Beauty is the word that we use in day to day life for a flower; addresses a person, a piece of music, or painting. I always had a curious mind so a question arose in my mind. How is poker beautiful? It might not be aesthetically beautiful. This is like the beauty of mathematical derivation. To understand the beauty well, you need to learn the game. Learning a game like, poker is not as hard as people think. Poker can be classified into two types – stud poker and draw poker.

In Stud poker, each player is provided with five or seven cards. Players then use the strength of their hands and chips accordingly. The player who bids the maximum number of chips wins the game but if another player bets to match the bet then the person with the best card wins the hand.

In Draw poker, each person gets five cards and then the betting starts. The remaining players try their best to improve their hands by trading maximum of three cards from the deck. If a person has an ace, he or she gets a chance to trade four cards in maximum.

In both cases, the bet starts from the person on the left of the dealer. Every player gets four options –

Raise – A person who thinks he has or wants others to think that he has a better hand raises a wager to continue the game.

Fold – A person who doesn’t have good cards or doesn’t have a desire to wager chips can raise a fold. In this case, a person will neither win the hand nor loose chips.

Call – After the stakes are raised, the players get to decide whether to raise more stakes, fold the hand, or to equal the chips wagered by the person who raised it, which is called to call the hand.

Check – If no one has the desire to raise the wager anymore, then a person must stand pat by checking or they can pass his option to bet.

In poker, the ranking of the cards is done from best to worst. Ace is the most valuable card. The order maintained in descending order: King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

High card – In case if two people have the same high card, the second-highest card is considered to break the tie.

One pair – A pair is formed when a person has two cards of the same type.

Two pairs – When more than a player has two cards of the same type. In such a case the player having the highest card in a suit wins the hand.

Straight – Straight is the term used when a player has five cards in the same sequence. In case two players have straight, then the player with the highest card in the suit wins the hand.

Flush – When a player has five cards of the same suit, it is called a flush. If two people have a flush, a person with the highest card in suit wins the hand.

Full House – When a player has three cards of the same kind and a pair in the same hand, it is called a full house.

Four-of a kind – It is a condition when a person has four cards of the same number. It is considered as a powerful hand.

Straight flush – When a person has all the five cards of the same type, it is said to be a straight flush.

Royal Flush – It is known as the best condition. In this case, a player gets a straight flush along with an ace.

Poker is a game that is required to be played with a strategy. Even if you are a good player and were playing with a strategy you may come across a bad-beat. The most important thing that a person needs to remember is that “Failure is a step ahead to success.” So, never be upset and egoistic about your loss. It’s okay to lose to learn sometimes. Gather your energy and get ready for the next win.