Poker has always been and remains one of the most popular card games. He became popular in Russia not so long ago - mostly our compatriots learned about him from literature or Hollywood films. What lures this game to its supporters, why is it so interesting? There is an expression: "You can learn to play poker in half an hour - you’ll learn to play playing all your life." Perhaps this is the key.
A bit of history
The first mention of poker dates back to the 16th century - this game is one of the oldest in the history of mankind. Someone believes that poker originated in China, there are supporters of European descent. Now it’s no longer possible to establish unequivocally which country became the founder of the game
If we take the first mention of poker in the literature, then these are the notes of the English traveler Jonathan Green. Rafting along the Mississippi River, he learned about the fascinating game that the sailors introduced him to. 2-4 people took part in the game, and according to the description it is most similar to Texas Hold'em.
Poker gained the most popularity in the USA. It is because of this that many consider it a typically American game.
Entrepreneurial players with the spread of the popularity of the Internet were able to see the huge potential benefits of poker on the condition of transferring it online. After all, not everyone had the opportunity to come to the casino and sit at the card table. And on January 1, 1998, the first poker distribution of such a plan was played online.
The attitude to online poker was, to say the least, skeptical at that time. But in 2003, an event took place that turned both the world of online poker and its attitude to it all over the world. Chris Moneymaker was a simple American hard worker - one of millions. His hobby was online poker. And in 2003, having passed a series of qualifying tournaments, he won first place in the World Series of Poker and received a mega prize - he became the owner of $ 2.5 million. Real man, real money. The game begins to be trusted. From that moment, the full-fledged careers of now-known online poker players begin.
Poker Streets: Preflop, Flop, Turn, River
There are so-called streets in poker. This is the stage of distributing cards to players and opening community cards. There are four in poker disciplines like Hold'em and Omaha. In the future, studying poker terms and features of the game, we will do this on the basis of Texas Hold'em. The streets have the following names: preflop, flop, turn and river.
Preflop - the first round of trading in most varieties of poker. Cards have already been dealt to the players, but they are not yet on the table. Players evaluate the situation based primarily on the cards they received when they were dealt.
Flop - the second round of trading; showdown stage of community cards. During this round, the first three cards are revealed on the table. Having on hand 2 cards + 3 cards that were dealt during the preflop and were revealed on the table, players make up compositions.
Turn - the stage of opening another common card, followed by the third round of bidding.
River - the stage of opening the last card of five. If we take Texas Hold'em, now on the table are five cards open, and two - each player. The last, fourth round of trading is connected with the river.
The value of playing the flop right
What is a flop for poker players? This is a very important stage of distribution, as after opening three cards on the common table, the player already has information about 71% of the cards with which he will deal in this distribution. Looking at your “pocket” cards and evaluating the newly opened cards, we can already say for sure whether the flop strengthened its original position. Poker in Texas Hold'em is a game where 5 cards are evaluated, which means that some players already understand whether they have collected a successful composition at the moment or not.
Flop types
- Rainbow. Three flop cards and all three of different suits are laid out on the table.
- Double suited. What is a double-flop flop, it becomes clear from the name. It means that two of the three cards laid out on the table are of the same suit. In this case, having two cards of the same suit on hand, the player collects the so-called flash draw - a flush without one card. You can try to “reach out” to such a winning combination on the turn or river.
- Suited. It happens only in 5% of cases. All cards are on the flop of the same suit. You can rejoice by collecting a strong flash. Or worry if he had gathered at opponents.
- Paired. In this case, we have two cards of the same value on the flop. Set, full house, square - you can collect any of these winning combinations here.
- Two-connector When this flop opens, two cards appear next to each other on the table. Having on hand, for example, a three and a four, and having seen a five and a six on the flop, we have already lined a straight draw, which may increase (or may not increase) to a straight.
- Three-connector. Three consecutive cards appear on the table. Some of the players may already have a ready-made street.
- Wood burning. No, he has nothing to do with firewood. What is a flop in poker called a wood flop? This is the flop with which you can make both a straight and a flush.
- Dry. The situation when the three cards that have opened do not give prospects for either a straight or a flush, and do not even add up to a draw.
Translation of flop
The word is English and can be used not only in poker. Yes, most will think about a card game after hearing it. Translated, “flop” does not at all refer to gambling. So, take a look at the Russian-English dictionary.
What is a “flop” if you forget about poker for a while? Literally - this is a verb meaning "to flop", "fail", "fall off".
What is flop outside poker?
This word can be heard in an informal conversation about some kind of music artist. But not about anyone, but only about whose position has fallen sharply. For example, if the album of a certain popular artist fell in the rating, failed at the box office - it can be called a flop. At one time, American youth called Britney Spears and Madonna - they also had disastrous singles. In America, if we take this context, the word "flop" in slang is very popular among adolescents.
Flop also happens in computer drawing. Here the word means a picture created quickly. Often when you create it, do not use fill or make it the same color.
If you study American slang more closely, you can find out the third meaning of the word flop. Moreover, it replaces the voluminous description of the personality, describing the person who gives the order at the last minute.