Poker

Change of plans, I'm not going to tell you why my blog is green. Instead, we're going to talk poker. Now, my favorite game is Texas Hold Em. It's simple; bet on the cards flush of the two that you have in your hand. In other words, say you have a three of diamonds and a queen of clubs (I just randomly drew those out of my deck, so i have no idea how this will turn out.) In a standard Poker game, the game usually starts with two players to the left of the Dealer. It isn't betting if there isn't any money in the pot, so each player puts in a predetermined amount of money (or chips, if you are either not betting or cashing in later. Legit Casinos use chips to cash in) into the pot before recieving their cards. This is also referred to as 'Posting the Blinds'. The player immediately left of the dealer is 'half-blind', meaning that the next person would have to double their bet. Usually, this person puts in half of the minimum bet so the next person has to put in full. After bets are placed, the dealer gives each player two cards, face-down for only the player to see. Now the players bet again blindly. After this, the dealer 'burns', or discards the top card of the deck in case anyone saw it accidentally. Now, the dealer places three cards, face up on the table. (for proper poker terminology, these cards are called the 'flop') Guess what happens then? yep, you bet again, starting with the person left of the dealer. Say the flop was a king of spades, a king of hearts, and a five of diamonds. You can pick any of the cards on the table to 'add' to your hand. You are either betting on suit, with the three of diamonds in your hand and the five of diamonds on the table, or you are betting on Straight. Straight is when you have the two cards in your hand in consecutive order with three cards on the table. In a Straight, the suit of the cards doesn't matter.The next person can either call, raise, or fold. Calling means to match the previous person's bet. Raising is matching the bet and adding more. Folding is to stop playing and turning in your cards. The dealer burns another card before flipping the next card face up with the other three. This is called the 'turn' or 'fourth street'. Betting again, the dealer burns another card and places one more on the table, called the 'river' or 'fifth street'. After the last round of betting, the players still in the game reveal their cards. The player with the best hand wins.