Poker games

Play poker games online for free at Starbie

On this page, you’ll find our full collection of free poker games. Take a seat at the poker table and make sure you don’t give anything away as you face off against other players and NPC opponents. Place your chips on the table and size up the other players as you try to outplay every competitor with your daring bluffs and nerves of steel. Check out our collection of popular Governor of Poker games and demos, or explore our collection of other card games, including blackjack. Continue reading to find out more about poker and how to play it.

Poker: a brief history

Poker has a long history and, like many card games, has crossed the globe in many different forms. Some believe poker to be derived from the Persian game As-Nas, while others believe its origin to be 10th century China. The earliest version played in Europe appears to be the 16th-century Spanish game Primero, which evolved into Pochen in Germany and Poque in France in the 17th century. English-speaking settlers in America called this game Poker.

Poker tournament games

The game caught on in America, but poker tournaments only became widely popular in casinos in the 1970s, after the founding of the World Series of Poker in 1970. Many of our games take the form of tournaments in which you have to outplay the other players at the table.

Texas Hold’em Poker

The most popular poker variation is Texas Hold’em, and this is also the style of most of our games. The aim is to combine the two cards you have been dealt with the community cards placed on the table in order to make the best poker hand. Successive rounds of betting take place as the flop (the first three face-up community cards), turn (fourth street), and river (fifth street) are dealt. Will you fold or stick around for the showdown?

Poker hands

Listed from least to most valuable, the poker hands are as follows:

• High card – If no player can assemble a valid hand, the card with the highest value wins
• One Pair – two cards of the same value (e.g. 7-7)
• Two Pairs
• Three of a kind – three cards of the same value
• Straight – an unbroken sequence of five cards (e.g. 8-9-10-J-Q), regardless of suit
• Flush – five cards from the same suit, regardless of value
• Full House – three of a kind and one pair
• Four of a Kind – four cards of the same value
• Straight Flush – an unbroken sequence of five cards of the same suit
• Royal Flush – cards from 10 to ace, all belonging to the same suit