Poker facts for kids

Poker is a fun card game played with a standard deck of 52 cards. It mixes a bit of luck with a lot of skill. In poker, players bet against each other based on how good their cards are. People usually use plastic or ceramic chips for betting, which are easier to handle than real money. At the end of the game, these chips are either traded for money or counted to see who won.

There are many different ways to play poker. In a game called draw poker, each player gets five cards. A player can choose to throw away some cards and get new ones to replace them.

In stud poker, like seven-card stud, some of your cards are placed face-up on the table so everyone can see them. In community card poker, such as Texas hold 'em, players share some cards in the middle of the table. These shared cards can be used by all players to make their best hand.

History of Poker

The exact start of poker is a bit of a mystery! The name "poker" probably comes from the French word poque, which came from the German word pochen (meaning 'to knock'). It's similar to an old Persian game called as nas. Some people think French settlers in New Orleans learned it from Persian sailors. Poker also seems to be related to older European card games like primero from the Renaissance and the French game brelan. The English game brag also came from brelan and included the idea of bluffing. It's likely that all these older games helped poker become the game we know today.

An English actor named Joseph Crowell said that poker was played in New Orleans in 1829. Back then, it was played with only 20 cards, and four players would bet on who had the best hand. A book from 1843 by Jonathan H. Green explained how the game spread across the country. It traveled on Mississippi riverboats, where gambling was a popular way to pass the time.

Soon after, the full 52-card deck was used, and the "flush" (five cards of the same suit) was added. During the American Civil War, more rules were added, like draw poker, stud poker (the five-card version), and the "straight" (five cards in a row). Later, new ideas like the wild card (around 1875), lowball (where the lowest hand wins), and split-pot poker (where the pot is split between the highest and lowest hands) were introduced. Community card games, like Texas Hold 'em, became popular around 1925. Poker spread to other countries, especially in Asia, often because of the U.S. military.

Poker's words and phrases have become a big part of American and English culture. Phrases like ace in the hole, beats me, blue chip, call the bluff, cash in, pass the buck, poker face, stack up, up the ante, when the chips are down, and wild card are used every day, even by people who don't know they came from poker!

Modern poker tournaments became very popular in American casinos after the World Series of Poker started in 1970. In the same decade, the first serious books about poker strategy were written, like The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky and Super System by Doyle Brunson.

Poker has become super popular recently, thanks to online poker and special cameras that let viewers see players' hidden cards. This made poker a real spectator sport. Now, people can watch the exciting action and drama of tournaments like the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour on TV.

How to Play Poker

A Royal Flush in hearts, the best hand in poker!

There are hundreds of ways to play poker, but most games follow these basic steps:

• Starting the Game: Before cards are dealt, some players might need to put a small amount of money into the pot. These are called "forced bets" and can be "antes" (everyone puts in a small amount), "blinds" (one or two players put in a larger amount), or "bring-ins" (a specific player starts the betting).
• Dealing the Cards: Like most card games, the dealer shuffles the cards. Then, the deck is cut, and each player gets a certain number of cards face-down. In a casino, a special dealer handles the cards. A "button" (a small marker) is moved around the table to show who would be the dealer and who bets first in certain games. In a home game, players usually take turns dealing clockwise.
• Betting Rounds: After the cards are dealt, the first betting round begins. Players can choose to bet, call (match the previous bet), raise (bet more than the previous bet), or fold (give up their hand). Between betting rounds, players might get more cards or replace some they already have. Players place their bets in front of them, not directly into the pot. Once the round is over, all the bets are collected into the main pot.
• Bluffing: If one player makes a bet and all other players give up their hands, the game ends right away. The player who made the bet wins the pot without showing their cards. This is how players can "bluff" – pretending they have a great hand even if they don't!
• Showdown: If more than one player is still in the game after the last betting round, they have a "showdown." Players show their hidden cards, and the person with the best hand wins the pot.

Poker Hands: Best to Worst

Here are the different poker hands, from the strongest to the weakest:

• Straight flush: Five cards of the same suit in a row (like 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack of hearts). If it's A, K, Q, J, 10 of the same suit, it's called a Royal Flush – the best hand possible!
• Four of a kind: Four cards of the same number or face (like four Queens) and one other card.
• Full house: Three cards of one number and two cards of another number (like three Kings and two 7s).
• Flush: Five cards of the same suit, but not in a row (like 2, 5, 9, Jack, Ace of spades).
• Straight: Five cards in a row, but not all of the same suit (like 4 of clubs, 5 of diamonds, 6 of hearts, 7 of spades, 8 of clubs).
• Three of a kind: Three cards of the same number or face (like three 9s).
• Two pair: Two cards of one number and two cards of another number (like two 4s and two Jacks).
• One pair: Two cards of the same number or face (like two Queens).
• High card: If no one has any of the hands above, the player with the single highest card wins.

Poker Chips

Poker chips are small, round tokens used as play money in card games. They can be made from different materials like plastic, metal, or clay. In the early 1800s, when modern poker began, players used whatever they could to keep score, like coins or even gold dust. But soon, they realized they needed something easier to manage, so casino chips were created.

Casinos started using chips to make it simpler to handle money and collect fees. Back then, chips were made from materials like ivory, bone, paper, or wood. The most common ones were made of composite clay. However, a problem came up: cheating. Some players would try to sneak extra chips into their hands. To stop this, chip makers started creating unique designs and colors for different chips. Over time, other materials like plastic and metal were also used to make casino chips.

Popular Poker Games

• Texas Hold'em
• Omaha hold'em
• Five card draw
• Five card stud
• Seven card stud

Images for kids

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  A Texas hold 'em match in progress. Hold 'em is a popular form of poker in the USA.

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  The main table at the 2006 World Series of Poker.

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  James Garner as fictional poker player Bret Maverick and Jack Kelly as his brother Bart Maverick from the 1957 TV show Maverick.

See also

In Spanish: Póquer para niños