Poker

Poker

Cut the deck, please: A quick review of how to play poker

If you want to learn how to play bridge, you need to either read a book or take lessons. But here are the rules and some tricks too the trade for this popular card game that almost anoyone can play. That's no guarantee, of course, that you'll draw good cards, but at least you'll be prepared to call the other guy's bet.

Poker - five-card draw

Poker pits one player against another. Casinos that provide poker tables make their money by taking a percentage of the winnings or charging by the hour for the use of their table and dealer. If you are not an expert, a casino is definitely not the place to test your skill. Better to wager chips or change in the comfort of your own home

There are hundreds of card games based onslight modification of standard poker of “five-card draw”. Common variations include adding wild cards, changing the way in which players bet, and altering the size of each hand. The goal is always the same: get a better hand (selection of cards) than the other players.

To play five-card draw, shuffle a regular 52-card deck and deal 5 cards to each of three to seven players. Typically each player plays a small sum, called an “ante,” for the privilege of seeing his or her hand. All bets (and antes) are placed in the pot, a pile of money in the center of the table. Players bet on their cards in a clockwise fashion, starting at the dealer's left. The first player has several betting options:

Fold: Throwing in his or her cards and sitting out the rest of the hand. Any time a player folds at this stage, the ante remains in the pot and goes to the winner.

Bet: Placing a wager in the pot.

Pass: Choosing not to make a wager and allowing the next player to go.

If the first player doesn't make a bet, then the next player has the same options. Once a player has made a bet, however, other players may no longer pass, and are required to do one of the following:

Fold: And lose one's bet and ante.

Call: Match the other player's bets by placing an equal wager into the pot.

Raise: Place a higher wager than others have bet into the pot. All other players will need to match this raised bet in order to stay in the game.

After a round of betting, all remaining players are then allowed to exchange up to three of their cards with those from the top of the remaining deck in the same order that the cards were dealt. At this time, the players have a second round of betting. After this round, all remaining players show their cards to each other. The player with the highest hand wins the entire pot.

Cards are ranked in the following order, from lowest to highest: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, Jack,Queen, King, Ace. Below are a table that helps illustrate the ranking. Each level of the table beats all hands below it. For example, even the lowest straight (2,3,4,6) will beat the highest three of a kind (Ace, Ace, Ace, King, Queen),

If two players have the same type of hand, the one with higher cards wins the hand. For example, a player with a 9,9,9, Hack, 2(Three 9s) would beat a player with a 6,6,6,Ace, Queen (three 6s). Extra cards, such as the Ace, Queen, Jack, and 2 in this example, only matter when two players have identical winning combinations. For example, a player with a 9,9,5,5, King (two pair, with a King) would beat a player with a 9,9,5,5, Queen (two pair, with a Queen).

A poker table. Credit image: Elena.

Low-hand Poker

The rules for this game are identical to poker, except for an exciting 180-degree switch. In low-hand poker, it is the player with the lowest (and not the highest) hand who wins. The lowest hand possible is a 2,3,4,5,7, which is known as a “seven-high” hand. There is no such thing as a six-high, because a 2,3,4,5,6 would make a straight. In this game, it is common to see players discarding Aces and pairs of cards to rid themselves of their beasty hand.

High-low Poker

Two players split the pot – the one with the highest hand and the one with the lowest hand. If all but one player folds, then the entire pot goes to the winner.

Five-card Stud

Unlike draw, this game begins by dealing only two cards to each player. One of these cards is face down and one is face up, in plain view of all players at the table. Each player is allowed to look at his or her facedown card, and then a round of betting ensues. Betting starts with the player showing the highest card. After this round, another card is placed face up for each player (so that each player has two cards showing and one hidden card) and there is another round of betting. Again, betting starts with the players showing the highest cards. This pattern continues until each player has five cards. At any time during the game, a player can fold and the person with the highest hand at the end wins.

Seven-card Stud

This is an extremely lively and often high-stakes game. It is played in a similar fashion to five-card stud, except that the game begins by dealing three cards to each player – two are face down and one is face up. Rounds of betting are then interspersed with receiving additional face-up cards until each player has two face-down cards and four face-up cards. At this time, a final card is dealt face down and the final round of betting occurs.

Players can use any of their seven cards to make their best five-card hand. The catch to this game is that the odds are thrown haywire. Having seven cards makes it much easier to achieve good hands. It is common to see full houses, straights, and flushes.

Baseball

Baseball is a popular variation on seven-card stud, which makes the chances of achieving a high hand ridiculously easy. The game has wild cards, ones that can represent any other card in the deck at the player's discretion. In the game, all 3s and 9s (the number of strikes and innings in baseball) are wild. But they come with a price; a player must either purchase 3s and 9s (at a pre-determined price) if they are dealt these cards face up or they must fold the hand. If a player is dealt a 4 face up (the number of balls in baseball), they are immediately dealt another card face down.

Because of the wild cards in baseball, and the possibility of having more than seven cards (if a 4 is dealt), it is common for player to obtain the absurd (five of a kind). For example, a hand of 5,5,5,3,9 would be five 5s. Five of a kind is the highest hand possible, and beats a royal flush.

What Beats What

Royal Flush: The highest straight flush – 10, J, Q, K, A all of the same suit (number - 4, odds of obtaining - 1:649,739)

Straight Flush: A straight, and all five cards are of the same suit (number - 40, odds of obtaining – 1:64,973).

Four of a Kind:  Four cards of the same value with one extra (number – 624, odds of obtaining – 1: 4,164).

Full House: Three cards of one value and two of another. (number – 3,744. Odds of obtaining – 1:693).

Flush: Five cards of the same suit, such as five spades (number – 5,108, odds of obtaining – 1:508).

Straight: Five cards in a sequence of different suits, such as 5-6-7-8-9 (number: 10,200, odds of obtaining – 1:254).

Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same value with two extra (number – 54,912; odds of obtaining – 1:46).

Two pair: Two pairs of cards with one extra (number – 123, 552; 1:20).

One Pair (Two of a kind): Two cards of the same value with three extra (number – 1,098,240. Odds of obtaining – 1:1.37).

High Card: In a hind with no winning combination of cards, the highest card. (Number – 1,302, 540; 1:1).