They also are able to judge better than others when a big hand is not the best hand and when a small hand is the best hand. Whatever your level of play, the next lines will introduce you to theories and concepts of poker that will eliminate your reliance on luck and lead you to become an expert who relies on his skills. For above all, you must remember that poker is not primarily a game of luck. It is a game of skill. Poker is a generic name for literally hundreds of games, but they all fall within a few interrelated types.

There are high games like seven-card stud and Texas hold ’em, in which the highest hand in the showdown wins, and low games like draw lowball and razz, in which the lowest hand wins. There are also high-low split games, in which the best high hand and the best low hand split the pot. Among high, low, and high-low split games there are those like five-card draw, in which the hands are closed, and those like seven-card stud, in which some of the players’ cards are exposed for all to see.

Jokers, wild cards, and special rules may be introduced into any of these games to create such aberrations as Baseball, Follow the Queen, Anaconda, and scores of other variations that have Beyond Beginning Poker 3 spiced up home poker for decades.