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Rank Casino Highlights Bonus Free Spins Rating Play
Rank Casino Highlights Bonus Free Spins Rating Play
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Popular Payment Methods

In order to play online casinos, you need to make a deposit. Luckily for you, there are a ton of different payment methods out there to use. These can include eWallets, cards, prepaid options and more! Here are some of the most popular casino payment methods available today.

Why Poker Games are so popular online

Poker is a game which requires a level of intelligence, skill and a smart strategy. While there is always going to be a slice of luck with the cards that are dealt to all players, there is more control over the player’s own fate than there is in games that rely more on luck such as roulette.

There is a lot of poker that has had television coverage over the years with the World Series of Poker being one of the best-known worldwide. With the prizes on offer, it is not a surprise that poker is popular with players of all levels as the dream of playing in this level of tournament is a huge lure for most.

It is an intellectual challenge and in a day and age when a lot of social media seems to be moving away from that, there has been a pushback in the opposite direction from those who want to find something to test their skill and intellect. 

The popularity of poker is also a lot to do with the social element of the game. Events in recent years have seen a lot of people lead less outgoing lifestyles so to be able to play games and have chat facilities to talk with like-minded people while playing a few hands of cards is a huge part of what makes poker games so great.

What types of poker games can I play online?

There are many different versions of poker that people can enjoy. The most popular is Texas Holdem which we will discuss in more detail below as well as video poker which is a quicker and easier version that you can play versus the casino who act as the dealer with each hand taking only a very short period of time.

Another version is Deuces Wild which means that the two cards can be used as any other number so if you have the 10, queen and ace of diamonds plus a pair of twos then you can use them as the jack and king of diamonds to give yourself a Royal Flush.

Omaha Hi is a variant that is easier to win as you get given four cards to start and then five are put in the middle of the table. You have to use at least two of the four in your hand to produce the best five cards if you want to have a winning hand. 

A final one to discuss here is 7-card stud which has been one of the most popular variants for a long time, especially back in the day. Unlike a lot of the more modern formats which have a player making the best possible hand from the cards that they hold as well as those in the middle of the table that all players can use, stud poker sees each player being dealt with seven cards at the start of each hand. Four of the seven cards will be given face-up so that everyone can see them while three of them are dealt face-down so that only the individual player can see them.

How to play Texas Holdem Poker

Probably the best-known Poker game and also the most popular to play is Texas Holdem. You play with the full 52-card set but with no jokers which can be used as wildcards in some other forms of the game. Ace is the highest card in the deck.

Each player is dealt with two cards in their hand with a further five placed in the middle of the table face down. The dealer is the last person to bet if you are playing a friendly game at home or if playing at an online casino with a dealer, a virtual button is passed around the table to the left. 

The two people sitting to the left of the dealer are the small (straight to the left) and big blind. They must place their bets before the cards are dealt with the big blind double the value of the small blind. Most casinos have tables where the blinds are $2 and $1 but you can easily find bigger ones if you are a high roller. Betting happens over four rounds.

The first round of betting comes using only the cards in your hand, starting with the player to the left of the big blind. Players can call, raise, fold or check. Call is to place the same bet as the person before you, raise and fold are self-explanatory, raising the bet (generally by the big blind amount) or folding to take yourself out of the game. A check or a knock (knock on the table) is a no-bet but can only be used if nobody has placed a bet at that point.

In the second round, the first three cards in the middle of the table are turned face up and the betting goes in the same order, this is called the flop. Round three turns the next card over which is called the turn and the final round sees the final card in the middle turned which is called the river. 

The player who is still in the game (not folded) with the strongest hand made up of their own two cards plus the five cards in the middle of the table is the winner of the round and takes whatever chips have been bet.

What are the winning hands in Texas Holdem Poker?

  • Royal Flush
  • Straight Flush
  • Four of a Kind
  • Full House
  • Flush 
  • Straight
  • Three of a Kind
  • Two Pair
  • Pair
  • High Card

There are 10 hands that can win in Texas Holdem Poker, although your chances of winning with some of the lower ones are very slim. If two or more players all have the same level of winning hand, the player with the highest cards wins. For example, if two players have three of a kind, a player with three kings would beat a player with three queens. 

Royal Flush

A Royal Flush is the top hand in Texas Holdem. This is the 10, jack, queen, king and ace of the same suit 

Straight Flush

A straight flush is any five cards of the same suit in a row so anywhere from the two through to the six or the nine through to the king. 

Four of a Kind

Four of a kind is exactly that, you have four cards all of the same value. 

Full House

A full house is three of one card and two of another. For example, you have three kings and two queens, this is a full house. 

Flush

This is having five cards of the same suit but they can be any numbered card. So, the two, five, eight, jack and king of diamonds would give you a successful flush. 

Straight

A straight is similar to a flush with it being a run of five cards in order but they can be from any suit so you could have the six of clubs, seven of hearts, eight of diamonds, nine of spades and 10 of clubs, which would give you a straight.

Three of a Kind

As with four of a kind, this one has three cards of the same value in your hand so having three sixes for example.  

Two Pair

Two pair is when a player has two different pairs. So there might be a king and a queen as the two cards that you were dealt and another king and queen on the table. 

Pair

A pair is just two cards of the same value. They can both be in your hand or one in your hand and the other on the table. 

High Card

It is almost impossible to win with just a high card in your hand but if all that you have is an ace then it is possible to still win a hand of Texas Holdem poker but this is extremely rare.

Video Poker - Jacks or better

When you are looking for video poker at an online casino, the variant most often played is called Jacks or better. This is simply because the minimum winning hand that you can have is a pair of jacks, any lower pair is not good enough to claim a win. 

Video poker is still played with 52 cards and you need to select a stake before you begin the game. You are then given five cards and you can decide to keep or discard them, with up to five able to be discarded depending on what the local rules specify on the site that you are on. Whatever you are left with are the cards that you have to play.

If you are dealt a pair of kings for example plus a three, seven and nine of different suits, you would discard the other three in the hope that you might get another king given to you with the three cards that you get back.

In general, the ways to win are the same as if you were playing Texas Holdem but without a high card being a winning option and as mentioned above, a pair of jacks being the minimum required to win a hand against the bookmaker.

The payout that you will receive for winning hands can vary by bookmaker but in general, they are as follows…

  • Royal Flush pays 800:1
  • Straight Flush pays 40:1
  • Four of a Kind pays 20:1
  • Full House pays 9:1
  • Flush pays 6:1
  • Straight pays 6:1
  • Three of a Kind pays 3:1 
  • Two Pair pays 2:1
  • Pair pays 1:1

Where can you find Free Online Poker?

If you would like to play poker games online for free then you are in luck as this is possible for players across Canada. Most sites offer free poker so that players can still have some interaction with other players in the rooms.

This is a great way to learn any variant of poker that you are interested in playing and make sure that you understand the game and all of the rules that the game has before you start to play for real. 

Poker is a game that has so many different ways to win that it takes some time to learn what hands beat one another and how to read what cards others might have around the table which is even more important than what you have in your own hand. 

That is a little easier in person than it is online but you will still find patterns in how players bet, raise and check that will give you an idea of what they are holding. Poker is not just a card game, it is a mental grind that demands excellent control of your emotions, an analytical mindset as well as an ability to understand odds and how they change with each card that is dealt. It truly is one of the most remarkable games out there so make sure that you put in plenty of practice and then only bet with money that you can afford to lose.

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