pokerstar.tv
WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS- The last WPT rerun of the "Championship" tournament
from 2003 pokerstar.tv (before the new season starts next week with the Borgata
tornament), Bravo's "championship" celebrity match, a rash of 2003
WSOP episodes- NOTE: in protest, I refuse to list the stupid "Best
of" compilations that ESPN put together!- and the 2003? US Poker
Championship (which East Coasters will have to video tape)
pokerstar.tv
What's the catch? Every bonus has some strings attached. Usually the site requires you make a minimum deposit and play a minimum number of raked hands. The details vary so we provide a link to the fine print for each offer. Since you can only sign up once for pokerstar.tv each site, make sure you understand the offers and choose the one that's best for you. And since the offers change over time, be sure to check the latest fine print on the poker site (they're the authoritative source, not us).
So you've seen Rounders, and the idea of taking Matt Damon for everything he's worth seems appealing to you. Or maybe you haven't seen the movie and still find that appealing. Whatever your motivation, you want to learn how to play poker, a time-tested card game that has the distinction of being one of the most ancient forms of gambling. Good for you. But before you strap on the green visor and throw pokerstar.tv down your life's savings, you re going to have to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em.
Poker, at its very essence, is a simple game. Its countless versions can be quite complex, however, which is why we're going to focus on 5-Card Draw (a.k.a. "regular" poker), the easiest one for beginners to learn. Later we'll tell you about some of the other variations of the game, but for now, it's gonna be 5-Card Draw, so you're just going to have to deal. Get it? "Deal?" Sorry
Poker is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards (except for Ross Perot Poker, which is played with less than a full deck). The cards are ranked from high to low in the following order: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Aces are ALWAYS high. Aces are worth more than Kings which are worth more than Queens which are worth more than Jack, and so on. The cards are also separated into four suits. The suits are:
But you already knew that from pokerstar.tv playing Go Fish, right? The suits are all of equal value, meaning that no suit is more valuable than another. It's a very democratic game.
Each player is dealt five cards. The object of the game is to end up with the highest-valued hand. From best to worst, hands are ranked in the following order:
Royal Flush
This is the most valuable hand in all of poker. A Royal Flush is composed of 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, all of the same suit. It's the toughest hand to get.
Examples:
| HAND 1: | 10 |
J |
Q |
K |
A |
|
| HAND 2: | 10 |
J |
Q |
K |
A |
Straight Flush
A Straight Flush is comprised of five cards in numerical order, all of the same suit. It's not allowed to "wrap around," such as Q-K-A-2-3. This is also very rare. pokerstar.tv If you get two of these in a row, you are cheating. If there are two Straight Flushes at the table, then whichever hand's Straight Flush reaches the highest card value wins. So in the examples below, Hand 2 (which has a King) would beat Hand 1 (which only goes up to 8).
Examples:
| HAND 1: | 4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
|
| HAND 2: | 9 |
10 |
J |
Q |
K |
Four of a Kind
Four cards of the same numerical rank and another random card. If there are two or more hands that qualify, the hand with the highest-ranking Four of a pokerstar.tv Kind wins. In the examples below, Hand 2 would beat Hand 1.
Examples:
| HAND 1: | 6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
J |
||
| HAND 2: | Q |
Q |
Q |
Q |
3 |
Full House
Of the five cards in your hand, three have the same numerical rank, and the two remaining card also have the same numerical rank. Ties are broken first by the Three of a Kind, then the Pair. So K-K-K-3-3 beats Q-Q-Q-A-A, which beats Q-Q-Q-7-7.
Examples:
| HAND 1: | J |
J |
J |
4 |
4 |
||
| HAND 2: | 5 |
5 |
5 |
A |
A |
Flush
A Flush is comprised of five cards of the same suit, pokerstar.tv regardless of their numerical rank. In a tie, whoever has the highest ranking card wins. In the example below, Hand 1 (with a King) beats Hand 2 (with a Queen).
Examples:
| HAND 1: | 2 |
4 |
7 |
J |
K |
|
| HAND 2: | 5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
Q |
Straight
Five cards in numerical order, regardless of their suits. Just like with the Straight Flush, a Straight cannot "wrap around." In a tie, whoever's Straight goes to a higher ranking card wins (so in the examples below, Hand 1 beats Hand 2).
Examples:
| HAND 1: | 7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
J |
|
| HAND 2: | 3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same numerical rank, and two random pokerstar.tv cards that are not a pair.
Examples:
| HAND 1: | 10 |
10 |
10 |
3 |
Q |
||
| HAND 2: | 2 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
9 |
Two Pair
Two sets of pairs, and another random card.
Examples:
| HAND 1: | 7 |
7 |
J |
J |
5 |
|||
| HAND 2: | Q |
Q |
K |
K |
A |
One Pair
One pair and three random pokerstar.tv cards. If more than one person has a One Pair, then the person with the highest ranking pair pokerstar.tv wins.
Examples:
| HAND 1: | 8 |
8 |
5 |
K |
3 |
||
| HAND 2: | 2 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
High Card
If none of the players have anything of value, the player holding the highest-valued card wins, with the 2 as the lowest card, and the Ace as pokerstar.tv the pokerstar.tv highest. In the case of a tie, you move to the next highest card, and continue.
Examples:
| HAND 1: | 2 |
4 |
5 |
10 |
Q |
||
| HAND 2: | 2 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
|