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Poker Basics Essential Strategic Considerations seven-Card Stud Texas Hold'em Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better, HighLow Split (Seven-Stud/8) Omaha Home Poker Games

Po ker is America's national card game, and its popularity continues to grow. From Mississippi and Michigan to New Mexico and North Dakota, you can find a game in progress everywhere. If you want to play you can find poker played on replicas of 19th century paddle wheel riverboat or on Native American tribal lands. You can play poker in twetable, no-frills cardrooms and elegant Los Angeles County megaclubs where 150 games (with betting limits ranging from $1-$2 to $200-$400) are in progress 'round the clock. This book targets readers who are new to poker. If you've played in home games but have never played in a casino, this book can help you too. Even if you consider yourself to have a pretty good hand at the game, this book is bound to improve it. Above all else, poker forces the player to face reality and deal with it head-on. Oh, sure, people can ignore those

realities - lots of players do. They are the ones who lose consistently, and rather than face the deficiencies in their own game, persist in placing the blame on fate, on the dealer, on that particular deck of cards, or on anything else except themselves -that's handy. But poker can also be bad for you if you don't know the key strategies and your own shortcomings. But don't dismay. You have us to guide you through the rough waters and jump-start your poker education. Perhaps British author and poker player Anthony Holden said it best. In Big Deal: A Yea~AsA Professional Poker Player he writes: "Whether he likes it or not, a man's character is stripped bare at the poker table; if the,other players read him better than he does, he has only himself to blame. Unless he is both able and prepared to see himself as others do, flaws and all, he will be a loser in cards, as in life." Your challenge for as long as you aspire

to win at poker is this: Be willing to examine and analyze your character and game. If you do this, and have even a modicum of talent, you can become a winning poker player.

Chapter 1: Poker Basics Flush A flush is any five cards of the same suit. The cards are not in sequence. If they were in sequence, it would be a straight flush. If there is more than one flush, the winning hand is determined by the rank order of the highest card, or cards, in the flush. A flush composed of AvQvJv6v5v is higher than A+Q+J+4+3+. Straight ; Five sequenced cards, not all of the same suit, compose a straight. If more than one straight is present, the highest card in the sequence determines the winning hand. A jack-high straight Jv10*9+8+7+ will beat this 9*8*7+6*5+

nine-high straight. Three cards of the same rank, along with two unrelated cards is called threeofukind. This hand is also referred to as trips, or a set. If you held 8+8v8*K+4+ you could refer to it as " . . . trip 8s," or "a set of 8s." TUO pair Two cards of one rank along with two cards of another rank and one unrelated card composes two pair. The higher rank determines which two pair is superior. If two players hold two pair and each has the same high pair, then the rank of the second pair determines the winner. If both players hold the same two pair, then the rank of the unrelated side card determines the winning hand. If the hand is identical, then the players split the pot. For example, Q+Qv8*8+ 4+ queens and 8s is superior to Q*Q+5+5*K+ queens and 5s. One pair One pair is simply two cards of one rank and three unrelated cards. If two players hold the same pair, then the

value of the unrelated side cards determines the winning hand. No pair consists of five unrelated cards. When no player has a pair, then the rank order of the unrelated cards determines the winning hand. For example, if Harry has A-Q-9&3 and Adrien has AJ-10-3-2, then Harry wins because A-Q ranks higher than A-J. In split-pot games, like Omaha/& the best low hand composed of five unre lated cards with the rank of 8 or lower, captures half the pot. A hand like 7+6v4*3+A+ beats 7+6+5v3*A+, but will lose to 7*4v3v2+A*. Determining the best low hand takes a bit of practice, but if you always begin with the highest of the low cards and continue in descending order, you can't go wrong. Without betting, poker would just be a game of luck and the best hand would always win. Betting is the key to poker,

and minimizing losses when holding a poor hand while maximizing wins with good hands is what poker is all about. Every betting interval requires a check or a bet from the first player to act. Each player to the left of the first player to act may either check or bet if no one else has bet. Whoever makes the first bet is said make the opening bet. If a bet has been made, other players may fold, call, or raise. When a player folds, he loses any chips he has contributed to that pot and has no further interest in the hand. After the final betting round a showdown among the players still active in the hand determines the winner. Different types of games call for specific kinds of betting: r/ In a fixed limit game, no one may bet or raise more than a predetermined number of chips. This limit, however, usually varies with the round of the game. In Stud poker, betting limits usually double when the fifth card is dealt. Thus, a $10-$20 game means that the first two rounds of betting

are based on limits of $10, while the last three are in increments of $20. In Texas Hold'em, with four betting rounds, betting limits usually double on the third round. r/ Spread limit games are similar to fixed limit, but the bettors can wager any amount within the limits. A limit might be $2410 any time, which The out Anytime you are unsure of anything, the best procedure to follow is to call "Time!" This freezes the action. Then get your questions resolved prior to acting. Poker etiquette suggests that you not abuse this privilege, particularly if you are in a game where you are charged a fee for sitting at the table. Players usually want a fast, efficiently run game, with as few interruptions as possible. Decks and dealinq Dealers - and decks - generally rotate every halfhour. In addition, players unhappy with their run of cards are prone to holler "Deck change!" Most card rooms permit a change once a deck has

been in play for an entire round. The finer points: Etiquette Poker rules and etiquette helps speed the game along and keep it orderly. These conventions are as much a part of the game as the cards themselves. In fact, when you play casino poker for the first time, poker etiquette may take more getting used to than the game itself. Keep in mind the following points of poker protocol: 4 r/ Act in turn: Each player is expected to act in turn as play proceeds clockwise around the table. If someone bets and you plan to discard your hand, wait until it is your turn to act before doing so. Not only is acting out of turn impolite, it can give a big advantage to one of your opponents. If he knows you will fold your hand, it makes it easier for him to bluff, and is unfair to the rest of the players. In poker, as in most things, it's considered polite to wait your turn. r/ Keep your cards in plain sight: In order to maintain the integrity of the

game, it is important for players to keep their cards on the table during the play of the hand. The best way to protect your hand is to keep it on the table, and look at the cards by shielding them with your hands while lifting a corner of each card to peek at it. In a game like Texas Hold'em. where players have only two cards in front of them, it is customary to leave them on the table after looking and to place a chip on top of them. This alerts the dealer that your hand is still in play. V Avoid discussing hands in play: Discussing your hand with others, even if you have released it and are no longer contesting that pot, may provide information that would give another player an unfair advantage. If you want to discuss a hand with a neighbor, wait until the hand is concluded. Chapter 1: Poker Basics V Practice toking: We're not blowing smoke here, but toking (poker parlance for tipping) the dealer is customary when you win a pot. In poker casinos, tokes constitute a significant

part of each dealer's income. The size of the pot and the game's betting limits generally determine the amount of the toke. If you're new to casino poker, take your toking cue from the other players at the table. In games with betting limits of $10-$20 or higher, a dollar is a typical toke for all but the smallest pots. In smaller games, tokes of fifty cents are the rule.

Ptaginq in a Casino Casino poker differs from typical home games. While kitchen-table poker may be long on camaraderie and unusual variants of the game, there are many reasons to play in a public cardroom. The most important factor may be that there is always a game. In fact, you frequently have a choice of games, which are often available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 26 Part I: How to Play the Games Hot# to get in a game

When you enter a cardroom, you may see a white board full of players' initials. These initials are listed under games that are available. For example, if you walk into a large casino you might find seven players ahead of you waiting for a $2-$4 Hold'em game. Just give your initials to the board attendant and indicate the games you want to be listed for. You might say: "My initials are ABC. Put me up for the $244, $346, and $5-$10 Hold'em, the $5-$10 Stud, and the $4-$8 Omaha High-Low Split games." That's all there is to it. It's as easy as taking a number at Ben and Jerry's. Your initials will go up on the board for each game you request, and you'll be called as seats become available. If the board for a particular game is so long that the club can start another, the attendant will announce that game and call the players in the order they are listed. When you hear your initials, go to the table and grab a vacant seat. You're in the game. Some cardrooms don't use a board. Just give your initials or first name to the

attendant and tell him the games you want to play. In small cardrooms, where there are only one or two tables, ask the dealer if a seat is available or if there is a waiting list for the game. Buying chips When you first sit in the game either the floorperson or dealer will ask you how much you want in chips. Each game has a minimum buy-in. Give the floorperson your money and you'll get your chips. Large casinos have chip attendants. One of them will take your money, announce to the table that "Seat five (or whatever seat you occupy) is playing $200 behind." That means you bought in for $200, and the casino is in the process of fetching your chips. You can play that hand, even though your chips have not yet arrived. The dealer will either lend you some chips or keep count of how much you owe the pot. Your chips should arrive about the time that the first hand is played to its conclusion. Shu ffling and dealing You may never have noticed, but the shuffle procedure in a casino is much

more rigorous than it is in a game with amateur dealers. Home game players are usually unfamiliar with the mechanics of a good shuffle, and many lack the manual dexterity to perform one. Well-trained casino dealers assemble the deck so the cards face the players, frequently preceding that by scrambling the cards on the table. This is followed by a four-step procedure of shuffle, shuffle, riffle, and shuffle. Finally, the dealer cuts the deck and deals. The procedure is efficient, quick, and designed so that no cards are flashed in the process.