Poker is the worlds most popular card game. The online casinos offer great payout rates for high ranking hands.
There are two main types of online poker you can play. The first is against a dealer in games such as 'Cyber Stud Poker' where your hand has to beat the dealers hand. If you have a strong hand and the dealer has a weaker hand, you stand to win a lot of money as the payout scale is excellent. If the dealer does not get a hand and you you have a strong hand, the payout scale is ignored.The other type is video poker. You place your bet, draw the cards and have an opportunity to hold cards and draw again. There is a payout scale based on the hand you have.
We have included some basic poker strategy for you:
When it comes to Poker strategy, there are a few things to get straight right off the top. You could call these the Golden Rules of Poker 'cause they apply to pretty much any Poker game you're likely to play:
- Don't play cash poor: as a general rule you should start with 40-50 times the table limit.
- If you've got nothing in your hand, get out.
- If you've got a cinch hand, make them pay to see it.
- If they've got you beat, fold.
- The goal is to beat the other players, not have the highest hand. If everyone else folds, you take the pot.
- Don't try to beat a better player: if you're lucky, you'll win small; if you're not, you'll lose big.
- There's an even chance that you won't better your opening hand.
- When it comes to Draw Poker Strategy we begin by considering the rank of the winning hands. In the Rules of Draw Poker, we introduced the 5-card hands and their ranking. Here's some idea of the odds on receiving those hands on the opening deal:
Chances of being dealt the following hands in the original 5 cards:
| HAND | ODDS |
| Royal Flush | 650,000 |
| Straight Flush | 72,200 |
| Four of a Kind | 4,200 |
| Full House | 700 |
| Flush | 510 |
| Straight | 250 |
| Three of a Kind | 48 |
| Two Pair | 21 |
| One Pair | 2.4 |
| No Pair | 2 |
Based on these chances of receiving an opening hand, there are a few things you can immediately conclude:
- the more players at the table, the greater the chance that one or more players has a Pair, for example. In other words:
- the more players at the table, the lower the relative value of the lesser ranked hands.
- if you haven't got a Pair or better, or four cards to a Flush or Straight, Fold immediately.
Perhaps this last bit of advice needs some elaboration. What it comes down to is this: if you hold nothing in the opener your chances of improving and beating the other players are too slim. Of course this means that you'll fold most of your opening hands. Welcome to Draw Poker.
So let's assume you've got a little something to build on. Every beginning player wants to know whether they should hold a kicker and a Pair, or just the Pair. Same with Trips. As you'll see in the following, the odds almost always favor tossing the kicker:
Chances of making:
| HAND | any improvement | 2 pair | 3 of a kind | Full House | 4 of a kind |
| Drawing three cards to a Pair | 1 in 2.5 | 1 in 5 | 1 in 8 | 1 in 97 | 1 in 360 |
| Drawing two to a Pair with kicker | 1 in 3 | 1 in 5 | 1 in 12 | 1 in 120 | 1 in 1100 |
| Drawing two to Three of a Kind | 1 in 8.5 | -- | -- | 1 in 15.5 | 1 in 22.5 |
| Drawing one to Three of a Kind with kicker | 1 in 11 | -- | -- | 1 in 15 | 1 in 46 |
Needless to say, the better your opener, the better your chances of improving it. But forget about trying to build something out of a three card Flush or Straight: your odds are 1 in 23 and 1 in 150 respectively. It's highly unlikely that the pot would ever justify that kind of risk.
On the upside, observe the following chances if you hold four cards to build on:
Chances of completion:
| when drawing one card to | ODDS |
| Four cards of a Flush | 1 in 4.5 |
| Straight open at both ends | 1 in 5 |
| Straight open at one end | 1 in |
| Straight open on the inside | 1 in 11 |
| Straight Flush open at both ends | 1 in 23 |
| Straight Flush open at one end | 1 in 46 |
| Straight Flush open on the inside | 1 in 46 |
In the end, it's these odds that must advise you on your Poker betting decisions. If you've got a four-card Flush and it'll cost you $20 to stay in, the question is "yes or no"?
First question: what are your chances of completion on the draw? 1 in 4.5 So if you're going to stay in, that pot better pay you $90 or better (4.5 x $20), after you deduct your ante and bets thus far. Anything else is blind faith in beating the odds and the sidelines are full of players who tried that as their betting policy. Look where it got them.
Of course, Poker wouldn't be Poker if that was all there was to it. Bluffing, intimidation, body language and all the rest of it come into the game if you're playing your opponents across a table instead of across cyberspace. If that's your game I suggest you do some serious reading.
There are many, many books on the Poker subject and your first tough choice will be picking one. But remember, Poker has been around a long time. Anyone that tries to sell you a "hot new strategy" is beating you at the book counter, not the Poker table. Go with the pros.