Poker Concorde

Learning to play poker has become easier with the introduction of online poker rooms and the wealth of information regarding the game that has followed it’s popularity increase. Texas Holdem has become the most played and enjoyed card game in the world over the past ten years, and the rules of playing are made much more simple if you already understand the hand rankings.

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These hand rankings determine which hand beats which, and the list of these hands can be found online at any site that specialises in poker schooling. There are several variations of the game of poker, but with Texas holdem, each player begins by placing blinds which are forced bets to the left of the dealer button, which moves one place around the table each hand. Then each player is dealt two cards face down and the rest of the table then decides whether to fold their hand, match the blinds, or raise.

Once the raising is complete (if there is any), the ‘flop’ cards are dealt. Three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table. By looking at these cards you should start to make the best five card hand you can with your two, and the three on the table. After a betting round on the flop, a fourth card is turned up on the table. this is the ‘turn’. One more poker betting round follows, before a final fifth card is dealt face up. This card is the ‘river card’. After a final round of betting, players turn over their hands with the best possible five card poker hand from the seven cards available, taking the pot.

Online poker is a relatively new development within the game, and it has altered the way poker is played, as well as bringing it into the homes of thousands of players that might otherwise be too scared to go into a casino.

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Stepping through the doors of a casino with little or no poker experience would be very daunting, but with the arrival of online poker, anyone could learn the game.For the moment when online poker truly arrived, we have to look back 10-11 years ago. It is astonishing to think of the comparison between the multitude of online poker rooms and thousands upon thousands of players now, and the fact that online poker simply didn’t exist 12 years ago.

Technically, the first online poker room to open it’s doors to players in the current format was ‘Planet Poker’ although as you might expect, the graphics were poor, and there weren’t exactly players fighting to get in through the door. PartyPoker.com were the first of the big name poker rooms to open, and subsequently build a strong following of poker players in 1999.

Over the next seven years, pokers popularity grew massively, partly thanks to the inceased interest in television companies to air tournaments, mostly in the U.S. In 2006 however, things changed, with the departing U.S government at the time, forcing through a final piece of legislation effectively banning it’s players from online play. The republican governement had been trying to do this for quite some time, and finally managed it. Despite all this, most online poker rooms are still holding their own, and many predict that they will continue to do so until the current governnent has the time to review it’s current legislation on the subject.

Deposit bonuses have become an important part of online poker rooms, as the percentage paid for first time deposits is often the first thing you see on arriving at a poker rooms home page.

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Of course there are lots of finer details involved in these bonuses, but players will inevitably be instantly lured by a big percentage bonus. These incentives are offered by online poker rooms for two reasons really. Firstly, there will always be a contingent of players who enjoy the game but are not overly interested in playing for cash. Provided they are not resolute in a desire to not play for real money, they can be persuaded to make that first cash deposit by the allure of free bonus cash.

This online poker deposit bonus taps into the potential of new players developing their game onsite, and offers them a chance to get started at cash play with a generous boost to their first real funds. The other clear reason that springs to mind is purely competition between poker rooms online. With the rising popularity of poker over the past decade, lots of online poker rooms have appeared, each hoping to fill the space in that particular market. It only takes one poker room to offer a percentage cash bonus to new players depositing for the first time, and suddenly the rest must follow suit so that they are not left behind.

Whatever the reasons, the players are obviously happy to receive these welcome bonuses. Most poker rooms offer around 100% on top of the amount of the first deposit. You will usually need to play for real cash in order to activate this bonus.