Poker Cards are the mandate tool to play poker offline. The most widely used deck of cards for a game of poker is a regular, 52-card deck with face cards and number cards.
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A standard poker card deck consists of 52 cards divided into four suits, namely clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades. Each of these suits has 13 cards, where the order of poker cards are numbered from 2 to 10 and includes a jack, queen, king, and ace.
The origin of poker cards can be traced back to 9th-century China, evolving through Mamluk Egypt and Europe in the 14th century. Originally the cards used to be hand painted, before being mass produced after the invention of the printing press. Suits and ranks were standardized over time, with modern poker decks that had 52 cards, widely used in poker rooms and tournaments around the world.
The type of poker cards used can have an impact on the game, and it is important to choose the right type of cards for the game being played.
As a rule of thumb, there are 4 types of Poker cards, also known as suits:
All the above 4 suits hold the same value while playing any type of poker variant. In a regular 52- card deck, each of the four suits has 13 ranks, this poker card sequence is recognized in order of smallest to largest as A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. In this playing card order the face card – A (Ace) is the most powerful card and numbered card 2 (Deuce) is the weakest card.
The poker cards with alphabets are called the Face cards. The face cards consist of Aces, Kings, Queens, and Jacks respectively. On the other hand, the poker cards consist of the cards with numerical value from 2-10.
One of the four suits in poker card games is the Clubs. The Club is represented with a symbol of three-leafed clover. Clubs in poker card games fall under the two suits that are represented in black-colored cards. There are 13 clubs in this suit, including four (4) face cards and nine (9) number cards.
When you hold a standard 52 card deck, one of the two red card suits are the Diamonds. Like the other three suits, the diamonds also include 13 cards comprising four (4) face cards and nine (9) number cards. Identifying the diamonds is no rocket science, they are the cards with little red diamond shaped images.
Just like the others, the heart is also a group of 13 cards – nine (9) numbered and the remaining four (4) are faced cards. The heart suit is the easiest to identify as they have little red colored hearts marked on them.
Spade is one of the standard 4 suits in a deck of cards. The spade symbolizes a leaf, however it has an uncanny resemblance to upside down heart cards with a tiny stalk on its base. However, the spades are black colored cards as opposed to red hearts. Just like its other three counterparts, it consists of 13 cards comprising four (4) face cards and nine (9) number cards.
Even though all the four suits hold the same value, spades however, are more desired by the poker players. No wonder they’re making songs like “Ace of Spades”!
In any poker game, the poker card order is very important. The type of card a player gets is the biggest determining factor of if he/she wins or loses a hand. As a rule of thumb the poker card order goes from Ace (A) to Deuce (2), with Ace being the highest card and Deuce being the lowest. However, the suits, and the value of cards do not imply if a player has the best poker cards. In order to win, you have to have the best combination of poker hands.
Hand Name | Description | Card Example |
Royal Flush | The highest straight flush, consisting of A, K, Q, J, 10 of the same suit. | A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ |
Straight Flush | Five consecutive cards of the same suit (excluding Royal Flush). | 9♥ 8♥ 7♥ 6♥ 5♥ |
Four of a Kind | Four cards of the same rank, plus one other card. | K♣ K♦ K♥ K♠ 3♠ |
Full House | Three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank. | Q♦ Q♠ Q♥ 7♣ 7♥ |
Flush | Any five cards of the same suit, not in sequence. | A♣ J♣ 8♣ 4♣ 2♣ |
Straight | Five consecutive cards of any suit. | 10♦ 9♠ 8♣ 7♦ 6♥ |
Three of a Kind | Three cards of the same rank and two other unpaired cards. | 5♠ 5♦ 5♣ K♠ 8♥ |
Two Pair | Two pairs of cards of the same rank, plus one other card. | J♦ J♠ 4♣ 4♥ 9♠ |
One Pair | Two cards of the same rank and three other unpaired cards. | 10♥ 10♠ Q♣ 6♦ 2♥ |
High Card | Any hand that does not qualify as any of the above. | A♦ Q♣ 9♠ 5♥ 3♠ |
Poker Rules may vary based on what poker variant is being played. In a standard 5-card Texas Hold’em Poker game, players are required to make the best hand with the 2 cards that are dealt to them and the 5 community cards that are eventually opened on the table.
Here’s a table showing the differences and similarities between Texas Hold’em, Omaha and 7 Card Stud:
Aspect | Texas Hold’em | Omaha | 7 Card Stud |
Hole Cards | 2 | 4 | 3 (2 Cards face down, 1 face up) |
Community Cards | 5 | 5 | None |
Hand Construction | Best 5-card hand from hole cards + community cards | Best 5-card hand, must use 2 hole cards + 3 community cards | Best 5-card hand from 7 cards dealt to each player |
Betting Rounds | 4 rounds (pre-flop, flop, turn, river) | 4 rounds (pre-flop, flop, turn, river) | 5 rounds (initial deal, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th street) |
Player Visibility | Hole cards hidden; community cards visible to all | Hole cards hidden; community cards visible to all | Some cards visible to all, some hidden |
Maximum Players | Typically up to 10 | Typically up to 10 | Typically up to 8 |
Blinds/ Antes | Uses blinds (small and big blind) | Uses blinds (small and big blind) | Uses antes (and bring-in bet) |
These community cards on the table are opened in certain intervals, players are supposed to place their antes along with others until they match. The last player standing, or the one with the best poker hand usually takes away the pot.
There is a huge difference between playing poker online as opposed to playing poker offline. Despite the rules being exactly the same, online poker offers some key benefits to the players. Let’s dive deeper and see how playing poker online is a better option:
First things first, online poker can be played anytime, anywhere. All a player needs to have is a smartphone and an internet connection. One doesn’t even need to step out, reach a destination, or even dress-up for playing. Players can simply log on to their favorite poker platform , join a desired poker table and start grinding against real players.
While playing online poker games, a player has an advantage of playing on multiple tables at the same time. Just in case, a player is not able to win on one table, they can recover their losses by wagering on another poker table.
While playing offline poker games, players usually try to guess the moves of the contesting players by reading their body language and facial expressions like blinking, smiling, twitching eyes etc. However, in online poker, the players are connected only via a screen and they do not have an option to see each other. Thus, everyone is given an equal opportunity to win.
The best thing about playing online poker is being able to play it at your own convenience. Players can choose to play anytime of the day, without having to go through the hassle of coordinating with other players. On online platforms like Pocket52, the user base is quite strong, resulting in round-the-clock availability of players. Thus, a player can even choose to play during the middle of the night and still be able to experience the same thrill.