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The Best Introduction to Online Poker

Known, played, and loved in Canada, online Poker is one of the latest incarnations of the card game family. You can find the most popular variants, as well as a few that are not as well-known, but whichever you choose, you are bound to enjoy what they offer.

Sure, there are a few differences between playing online and offline, but the core remains the same. Thanks to the best online casino software providers, there are different ways in which you can do this. Let’s take a closer look.

How We Got Here – a History Lesson

There was a time when historians thought the ancestor of online Poker was an ancient Persian game. But in all likelihood, it was developed in the USA, and appears to have been inspired by various French, Italian, and English forms of entertainment.

One of the first mentions of it was in 1829, when actor Joseph Cowell wrote that he saw it being played in New Orleans. Wild cards were added in 1875, and later, in 1925, gameplay using community cards was developed.

Several decades later, in the mid-1990s, it appeared in the first casino online. Whoever created it and wherever they did it, we, along with many Canadian players, are glad they did, because the gaming world would be poorer without it.

The Gameplay at the Core

Online Poker is a family of card games, which means there is no one single way to play it. How it unfolds largely depends on the variation you choose.

3-card games are the simplest. Usually, you place a bet, are dealt 3 cards, and then need to decide whether to raise or fold. If you raise, you place another bet, and play your hand, which wins if it is strong enough to beat the dealer’s, or, if there is no dealer, it matches one of the hands on the paytable. If you fold, you quit.

5-card online casino games may or may not use community cards. Either way, you will be dealt 2 or a full hand of 5 cards after your opening or ante bet. If 2 cards, you need to progress through betting stages in which community cards are dealt to the table, and use those to form a winning hand. If you get 5 to start, you will need to raise or fold.

Find Your Favourite Variant

The best way to find the best online Poker variant for you is to try a few of them, and see which one you enjoy the most. If you want to start simply, go for 3 Card, or for Caribbean Stud.

3 Card follows the basic gameplay outlined above. Caribbean Stud was developed in the 1970s and 80s. You get 5 face-up cards to start, whereas the dealer, played by the casino online software, gets 4 face-down and 1 face-up. You simply need to raise or fold.

Take things to the next level by playing Texas Hold’em, Pai Gow, or Tequila. In Texas Hold’em, you get 2 cards to start, and then need to bet your way through the Flop, River, and Turn stages. A new card is dealt to the table in each of them. If you can use them to build a dealer-beating hand, you win.

If you choose Pai Gow online Poker, you will be playing with a 53-card deck, and need to build a 5-card left hand as well as a 2-card right hand. Tequila is one of the most complex, as it gives you a choice between 2 games within the game, and it includes elements borrowed from Blackjack.

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