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What is Poker?

Poker is an incredibly popular card game that combines gambling, skill and strategy. The online variant is basically the same as the traditional land-based casino game, the key difference being that online poker is a lot faster and  tends to come with less risk as you can play for smaller amounts. It’s also more accessible as you can play anywhere, anytime, at many of the best online casinos NZ has to offer. The one downside could be that you’re playing against strangers and can’t see anyone’s face, however, it remains a fun and stimulating game no matter where or how you’re playing.

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A Short History of Online Poker

Prior to the 2000s, poker mainly existed in the back of smoky bars or at land-based casinos. If poker was being played on the Internet, it was in chat rooms and purely for entertainment. As technology rapidly advanced in the early noughties, so poker was introduced at one online casino after the next. These sites were able to hold players’ money and let them bet against each other. An amateur player named Chris Moneymaker revolutionised online poker in 2003 when he qualified for the Poker World Series through an online tournament and subsequently won. This threw the spotlight onto online poker and soon players were flocking to play it at their favourite casino online.    

The Basics of Online Poker

All poker versions include betting as an integral part of play – the winner of a hand is determined by the combination of cards each player has. Poker games can vary in the amount of cards that are dealt, as well as the amount of community or shared cards, the amount of cards that remain hidden, and the betting processes. Online poker can be played on all platforms, from PC and laptop, to tablet and smartphone. The key is to start playing games that won’t drain your account in one go. Once you’ve signed up to play at an online casino, you’ll be able to deposit money into your account via credit or debit cards, as well as prepaid vouchers and web wallets. 

There are several different types of online poker games, but each variant has an element of bluffing, hand values and of course, betting. In most games, your initial betting round will start with one or more players having to make a forced bet (ante or blind). The bets made are usually done according to the rank the players believe their hand is valued at in comparison to other players. They must then either call (match) the preceding bet, or fold. If you fold, you’ll lose the amount you’ve bet thus far and will relinquish all further involvement in that particular hand. When you call a bet, you can increase it. The round finishes once all the players have either called or folded the last bet. If only one player folds on a round, the players remaining do not have to reveal their hands, and can collect the pot. If more than one player remains after the last round of betting, then a showdown will ensue where the hands are shown and the player with the most grabs the pot.

Playing Online Poker

Over the years there has been a massive increase in the popularity of online poker, which is why so many of the top online casinos in NZ offer great titles like Texas Hold’em, All Aces, Deuces Wild, Aces & Eights, and more. Bear in mind that when you’re playing online poker, you can also have sites detailing online poker strategies and more open too. Playing online poker can actually serve as a very effective study tool on how to improve your gameplay. Simply select an online casino, register your account and start playing.

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