Number of cards in the deck: 52.

Number of suits: 4 (Hearts, Spades, Diamonds, Clubs)

Number of cards in each suit: 13 (In order of rank; Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2)

Number of cards in a poker hand: 5 (even in games where you are dealt more than 5 cards, only 5 cards count as your poker hand.)

Rank of poker hands from highest to lowest:

1. Royal Flush; (ace, king, queen, jack, ten, all the same suit.)

2. Straight Flush; (5 cards in sequence of the same suit. see “straight” below for explanation of in sequence) (The lowest ranking straight flush is the wheel-flush, ace, 2, 3, 4, 5. 5 is considered the top card, not the ace.) (if two players have a straight flush, the one with the higher top card wins.)

3. Four of a kind; 4 Kings, Queens or other cards. (Of course the higher ranked 4 of a kind wins, such as 4 kings beats 4 queens)

4. Full House; This consists of 3 of a kind, (see below) and a pair all in one hand. (example; you have 3 fours and 2 kings. That would be fours over kings, while having 3 kings and 2 fours would be kings over fours.) (If 2 players each have a full house, the better three-of-a-kind part of the hand wins. example; you have 3 eights and two aces, your opponent has 3 nines and 2 twos. Your opponent wins. Their nines beat your eights.)

5. Flush; 5 cards of any rank, but all the same suit. (If 2 players each have a flush, the flush with the highest top card wins, if that is a tie, then whoever has the highest second card wins, if that is a tie, you compare the third, fourth, fifth card, etc.)

6. Straight; 5 cards in sequence. (example; 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 is a 7-high straight. If you opponent has 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, they have an 8-high straight and they win.)

7. Three of a Kind; (Trips) 3 cards of the same rank. (example; 3 sevens, 3 eights, 3 kings. if 2 players have 3-of-a-kind, the highest ranking cards wins the hand)

8. Two Pairs; A Pair is 2 cards of the same rank. 2 pair means you have 2 sets of 2 cards of the same rank. (If 2 players each have 2 pair, the player with the highest top pair wins. Kings and twos would beat queens and jacks.)

9. Pair; 2 cards of equal rank. (If 2 players each have a pair, the highest ranking pair wins. If 2 players each have the exact same pair, then out of the 3 remaining cards in your hand the highest card is your “kicker”. The highest kicker wins. If still tied, you go to the next highest kicker, etc.)

10. High Card; Where no one has a pair or above, you compare hands like this. The highest card in your hand vs the highest card in opponents hands. If that is a tie, then you compare the next highest card, then the next if still tied and so on. (King, Queen, 10, 6, 2, would beat King, Queen, 10, 5, 4. It would have been a tie until the fourth card compared and the first hand has a 6 to their opponent’s 5.)

If you’ve read my previous uplifting article about bad beat jackpots, you might be excited about the possibility of experiencing a large bad beat in a brick-and-mortar casino, but most players hope they can defy the laws of the universe and never have to experience bad beat poker.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re playing online poker or brick-and-mortar poker, players are constantly getting frustrated and complaining about bad beats. If I had a dollar for every bad beat story I’ve heard in my life, I wouldn’t be sitting here playing a $20 online multi-table tournament; I’d be vacationing at the beach.

Generally it’s the better and more experienced players who are amazed at losing to large underdog hands. Newer players often don’t realize the odds of a bad beat poker hand like pushing all in with AdJc and miraculously beating AsKs by spiking a Jack on the river.

Experienced and educated poker players need to take a step back and realize that bad beats will always happen when playing poker. Most decent poker players always talk about how amazed they are when they experience a bad beat, and they try to claim that it always happens to them. One thing that experienced players don’t realize is that if they are constantly playing with weaker opponents and experiencing bad beats, it’s because they always have the dominating hand.

You hardly ever see an advanced poker player lay down a bad beat on a much weaker player, especially in a no-limit game. The reasoning behind this is because as the better player, he generally has the better hand going into an all-in situation, so it seems like weaker players never experience bad beats. Players have to learn to take pride in generally making the correct play with the better hand and simply brush it off when they finally experience a horrifying bad beat.

Another common topic arises when talking about bad beats: how bad beats seem to happen far more often while playing online poker than when playing in a casino. For years players have spread myths and rumors that online poker is rigged. These players accuse the online card rooms of creating large action hands for the players involved in a game to drive up the size of the pot, which spikes up the casino rake. These myths and rumors are exactly that: all fake. All online poker rooms experience rigorous pattern testing and verification to provide completely random hands for all games at all times.

The truth of the matter is, when playing online poker, you see far more hands than when you are playing in an actual casino. Playing brick-and-mortar poker, you might be dealt around 30 hands an hour, depending on the game, the dealer, and the other players at the table. However, while playing online poker, you are probably seeing 50+ hands an hour. You might be experiencing double the number of hands as compared to casino poker, which might make it seem like bad beats are dealt more often, when actually their occurrence is generally about the same. If you are playing two tables at once in an online poker room, you are easily seeing 40-50 more hands per hour than if you were playing one table in a brick-and-mortar casino.

One last fact about online poker and bad beats is that the majority of players are more hesitant about calling large all-in situations when playing in actual casinos with actual money chips in front of them. Often online players, especially newer players, don’t have a problem pressing the “Call” button on their monitor, even in situations where they shouldn’t be calling. After all, it only takes one click of a mouse. If the same player were forced to push out $85 in chips in a $1/$2 brick-and-mortar casino no-limit game, he might think twice about his hand strength before throwing his money away.

So, all in all, no player can truly avoid receiving or giving bad beats in poker. Taking a hard bad beat sticks out in your head much longer than laying a bad beat down on another player. To keep your game sharp, you must learn to simply blow off bad beats, remain focused, don’t get frustrated, and understand that other players making bad calls is exactly what you really want. These are the players who keep you in the money and make you a winning poker player.

As I finish this article, I am dropped from my multi-table tournament, 6 spots before the money, when my pre-flop all-in with AK gets called by KQ, and my opponent turns a Queen. It happens, that’s poker, next tournament please.

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Some of the most common terms like trips, quads or ole one eye are pretty obvious pointing to three of a kind, four of a kind and the notorious one eyed jack. When you’re looking to impress some avid poker players, brushing up on a few terms that aren’t so common will do the trick.

Let’s look at a few hands you may have and the correct terminology of portraying a big boy at the table. After all, the last thing you want to say when you see two aces in your hand is, “I have a pair” so let’s look at the terminology for pairs.

A-A= these are called “Pocket Rockets”.
K-K= these are called “Cowboys” or “Elvis Presley’s” and some times “Penn & Teller”
Q-Q= often called “The Twins”, “The Ladies”, “The Hilton’s” or “The Dirty Duo”.
J –J = sometimes Jacks are called “Jokers”, “Hooks” or “Jerky Joe’s”.

These valued cards often have some wacky names and it may seem hard to keep up with some of them but you’ll soon realize that’s not so bad compared to some others. For instance, take a look at the slang on these babies.

2-2= “Ducks” or “Deuces”
3-3= “Prom Night” or “Crabs”
6-9= “Top or Bottom”, “Delight” and “Big Lick”.
K-J= “KoJak”
A-J= “Apple Jacks” or “Apple Fritter”

The terminology listed above can help you but only to an extent.

To be seriously efficient in a poker game, learn a few other terms to show that you are experienced and you mean business, everyone bluff’s sometimes. These terms are usually used in context when referring to a stage of play.

What is the flop?
The flop as it’s called is actually the first stage of play involving the community cards when the first three are laid upon the table in any type of “Holdem” style of poker. There are several ways the word flop is used and if you’ve watched televised poker play, it can be confusing.

What does it mean when someone says:

“He’s seeing the flop”= generally speaking this means that “he” the player will stay in the game, stay in the pot or the ante until “he” sees the first three cards—the flop.

“He’s hitting the flop”= this is a phrase that any poker player loves to hear and it means that the flop cards which are the first three of the community laid in the center of the table are going together well with the hole cards the player is holding that were dealt face-down to “him”. The chances of putting together a winning poker hand is looking pretty good.

“The post-flop is up”= basically this describes an action such as a bet most commonly. A player has bet post flop; the player has waited after he sees the post flop cards and means that the player didn’t bet blind.

“It’s coming down to the river”= the river refers to the last hand of Holdem style poker game. The very last card laid upon the table face-up, is the river.

Learning some of these terms should get your foot in the door to a good poker game but after you’re in it’s up to you. Have fun playing poker and even more fun learning some of the new slang.

Convenience for the seasoned or beginner poker player is one of the many advantages of playing online poker. Even though gaming institutions are popping up in more and more places these days, it is still likely that you will have to drive a good distance to reach a casino. As a number of casinos will usually have ample parking, there will still be those instances where you will have to look around for awhile for a parking spot and sometimes even pay for your parking while you are inside the casino. By playing poker online at home you are able to completely disregard the notion of driving anywhere at all and can use your time more wisely as opposed to wasting it by driving to and from the gaming facility. Another plus with not having to drive to a gaming establishment is that you will save money on gasoline. Online poker is definitely for the convenience-lover.

Lower stakes in the poker game are also an advantage of playing poker in an online setting. As individuals that play poker online are often beginners and are trying to learn the ins and outs of the game, low stakes poker games online make this type of table game a great place in which to learn without losing large amounts of money. In order to find the websites offering low stakes poker online, simply do a general search using a phrase such as “low stakes poker online” or “poker games online low stakes” and you will be met with a number of poker websites from which to choose the one you like best. Just be sure to thoroughly review the site prior to playing for safety reasons to make sure it is legitimate.

A third advantage of playing the game of poker online is that concentration will be more focused and centered in the comfort of your own home. Sometimes when you are playing poker table games at a casino, or any type of table games for that matter, other players can be distracting and almost intrusive. With online poker, you are able to concentrate better thereby increasing your chances of winning. When people are unable to concentrate, they tend to make silly moves thereby losing more money than they might have had they been able to concentrate. Playing poker online enables you to be able to concentrate on the game at hand and eliminates any outside distractions that may be present within a casino setting.

Having the availability of playing online poker 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is another wonderful advantage of playing a poker game in this manner. This is wonderful for the individual who likes to wait until later at night when the house is quiet and work is done for the day when he/she can sit down in front of the computer and enjoy a game or two of online poker. It doesn’t matter what time of day it is as you are sure to find an online poker game in progress. Availability is a beneficial advantage to the poker game lover.

Finally, playing online poker is a great way to ensure your place at a virtual gaming table. How many times have you driven to your local casino, or in some instances not so local casino, and found that you had to wait an unimaginable amount of time to secure a spot at a card table that was within your budget? My guess is quite a few of you have experienced this type of waiting game. By utilizing the availability of online poker websites you will be able to find a place at one of their virtual tables and no longer will you need to wait in line to enjoy some poker action. This may also help you to relax as sometimes waiting in lines can cause unnecessary anxiety and aggravation.

These are just a few reasons why playing poker online is a great alternative to playing this game at a casino in your area. Not only is online poker convenient but it also allows you to concentrate on your game and increase your winnings. Additionally, it allows you to play this entertaining game for lower sums of money, thereby limiting any potential extreme losses. Also, you will never have to wait in a smoky, crowded casino area again looking for a table spot to open up. After hearing about all of the aforementioned reasons, why not give online poker a try and see for yourself all of the wonderful things that it has to offer. Chances are you will not be disappointed.