Poker
1
The insatiable lure of poker
4
PLAYING THE GAME
Contents
Introduction
itable of contents
In this guide, we’re going to look at poker from a layman’s perspective and explore why it’s
considered one of the most exciting and profitable games in the world. Poker brings together
chance, strategic odds, and the value of emotional and cerebral intelligence. A bad hand is
doubt-less still a bad hand, but Poker’s crucial psychological and social dimension means that a
combination of bluffs, semi-bluffs, double bluffs, and betting duplicity could still net you a fortune
despite the cards that you’ve been dealt. It’s a game for the cunning and even, we might say, the
predatory. In tournament-style Poker we’re talking full-out Darwinian elimination: only the strongest
and the savviest can survive and they leave with everything.
IIintroduction
II
About the author
1arguing about history
1
version one
1
version two
2poker language
2
20th century developments
But first, the fundamentals: remember, every professional Poker player had to learn the simple
difference between an Ace and a King. Even Mozart had to learn where Middle C was on the
harpsichord. This guide won’t get you to pro status, but it will teach you the fundamentals of the
game and provide a broad-level foundation from which to learn advanced strategy. Once you have
the basics in hand, you’ll be in a position to play for real. Poker is a game best learn practically.
3 mad crazy blazing popularity in the 21st century: online and televised poker
We’ll start with an abridged history of the game and consider the reasons why Poker has become
such an iconic element of modern gambling. We’ll then move into the basics of play. Here we’ll
look at Poker variations, the different hands and what they mean, how blinds, antes and betting
systems work, and why your playing style should differ depending on the stage of the game you’re
in at any particular moment. From there, we’ll move onto the psychological aspect of Poker, from
bluffing and deception to common tell-tale signs that other players are lying to you about their
hand. We’ll end with some practical tips and practice examples so you can test your knowledge.
4playing the game
4basic mechanics
5
variations of play
6draw game variations
8
variations of community poker
9
10
Betting Rules
& Strategies
12
bluffing
It’s all in the hand
11betting rules and strategies
11to call or raise
12
hand development
12bluffing
13bluffing a good hand
13bluffing a bad hand
13bluffing an intermediate hand
13signs that your opponent
has a draw hand
About the author
Max Stern is the Casino Manager at Golden Riviera Casino,
who ensures everything within the online casino runs like
clockwork. Max has a broad knowledge of the casino
industry, with over a decade of experience under his belt.
Here he shares some of his knowledge to help you improve
your game.
14what kind of hands to play and when
15a few points on...
15going “all in”
15Limits
16straddle bets
16a few closing words
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Poker
I
Poker
II
Arguing about History
Version one:
Everyone wants a piece of the action
Poker and Language
Ever told someone to up the ante? To keep on persevering even when the chips are down? Have
you ever been angry with someone for passing the buck or congratulated them for a blue chip deal
in business? Maybe a friend impressed you by keeping an ace up their sleeve and triumphing over
their opponents. These terms all derive from Poker, and their assimilation into language bears
testimony to the extent to which Poker has permeated the way we conceive of the world.
A Blackjack table consists of five to seven circles of play on a semicircular board. The
players sit opposite the dealer. Now, it doesn’t strictly matter how many players are at any one
particular table, because at its core Blackjack is a game between you and the dealer. If the
dealer wins, you lose your bet, if you win, you get paid at 1:1. After the dealer shuffles the cards,
the player cuts the deck. The dealer then picks up the cards and places them in a box called a
shoe. In a motion called burning the card, the dealer will remove the top card and place it face up
at the bottom of the pack or face down in the discard tray. The idea here is to reinforce the
randomness of the cards.
20th Century Developments
There were a number of developments that lead to the increasing accep¬tance of poker amongst
the larger population. Particularly from the 1970s onwards, Poker’s popularity escalated with the
inauguration of televised World Series of Poker. Later that decade, a number of milestone,
strategy-type materials began to emerge such as The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky,
Super/System by Doyle Brunson.
Version Two:
No one gets to claim anything
Many other gaming historians maintain that the essence of the modern-day iteration of Poker does
not appear sufficiently in any older game for there to exist a convincing case for talk of such a long
lineage. According to this view, modern day Poker developed as recently as the mid-18th century,
spreading throughout the Mississippi and being played in a variety of forms and variations during
the 19th century when the country’s inhabitants began their westward expansion. For this
reason, the history of Poker is commonly associated with America’s Wild West. Poker spread via
enormous steamboats that travelled across the country and promised would-be bettors immense
fortunes if they could outplay their opponents to the end.
In many ways, the principles of Poker tended to adhere closely with the pioneering ethos of the
American frontier and the gold rush of the 19th century. The game embodies many of the
characteristics of capitalist expansion: stacking one’s claim to fortune and a combination using
smart skills and cunning play to outwit competitors.
By 1998, there appeared some of the first fully operational online casino platforms with real money
stakes. Planet Poker started small but soon gained enormous popularity. It would go onto host
24-hour tournaments with secure credit card facilities for the transmission of online funds.
When players play on credit, there is a much higher chance that they’ll lay more funds at the table.
In this way, some of the highest rollers operate in the online space! Just a year later, a new online
poker forum called Paradise Poker was launched. It was clear that the online poker space was
there for the taking and that Planet Poker’s hitherto industry monopoly was being challenged.
The Poker Table
POPular Poker Sayings
“If you’re in a card game and you don’t know who the sucker is, you’re it.”
Poker
1
Poker
2
Mad crazy blazing popularity
in the 21st century:
online and televised Poker
Since the 21st century, Poker has experienced unprecedented popularity. This is said to be largely
the result of the increased popularity of televised Poker with special hole-card cameras that allow
viewers visual access to each player’s hand. It makes Poker a thoroughly watchable spectator
sport. Because of the increased exposure of broadcasted poker tournaments and the enormous
sums of money that are played for, those players who truly excel at the game tend to very quickly
become Poker celebrities. Pokerhas made something of an evolutionary jump from a game
to a sport.
Playing
the game
Basic Mechanics of Play
First principle:
Your word or action is binding
Today, the industry is at an unprecedented peak. Online Poker in particular generates hundreds of
millions of dollars in revenue each year. In part, this is thanks to large-scale accessibility:
anyone with a credit card can play, and the game is quickly attracting a new breed of aggressive,
intelligent and emotionally savvy young players who will stop at nothing to leave the table with all
the chips in hand. It also helps that Poker in its online incarnation tends to move along at a much
swifter pace than its live counter¬part. More plays and more wagers ultimately translate into a
more steady income for the forums that host online tournaments, which leads us to an
important question….
This rule exists to prevent a player from changing his mind after seeing how other players react
to his initial play, which is a sneaky strategy that’s not permitted. Once you’ve made a call about
the direction of your play, you’re bound to that direction. Even seemingly innocuous and indecisive
moves like stretching out your hand with a fistful of chips and then immediately retracting it is a
no-go. The dealer will deem your bet as made.
…How the heck do online poker rooms
make their money?
The right to deal a hand will often rotate among the players in a casual play setting. It is signified
via a buck that passes to the active dealer. In a casino or in tournament play there’s just one
dedicated dealer.Cards are dealt clockwise around the table, one at a time. One or more players
are usually required to make forced bets, either a blind or an ante.
In general, they do it in one (or all) of four ways: the rake, the entry fee, the side bet, and the
clever investment machinations of the accountant in finance.
Ante
•
Rake: The rake is a percentage of the total pot that is calculated on a sliding scale with a capped upper limit. Each Poker room will determine its own rake structure based on a
number of factors like the costs involved in hosting the tournament.
•
Entr y fee: Online Poker rooms will typically charge a five to ten per cent entry fee of the total tournament buy-in.
•
Side bet: Many online casinos that host Poker tournaments will offer a side bet on a
different casino game like Blackjack orSlots. Even if a Poker hosting site doesn’t have a casino of its own, there’s a good chance they’ll have affiliate-type agreements with major online gambling houses.
•
Strategic investment: Because Poker hosts keep a lot of money in-hold, they can use it to leverage an investment advantage on a low-risk, short-term options. There is no law requiring these sites to pay interest on the money they’ve held, so online Poker sites can keep this interest to fund the costs of web hosting and soft¬ware development.
Poker
3
Getting the party started
An ante is a forced bet where all players place an equal amount of money or chips into the pot
before the deal begins. This provides an incentive to every player. Antes are common in draw and
stud pokers forms. Antes tend to encourage players play more loosely by lowering the cost of
staying in the hand (calling) relative to the current pot size, thus offering better pot odds. With
antes, more players stay in the hand, which increases pot size and makes for more interesting
play. It’s one of the reasons why many televised tournaments include both kinds of forced bets:
entertainment value.
Poker
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Variations of play
Draw game variations
There are four principal variation of play:
Draw games exist in a variety of iterations. Some of the more common are:
Straight:
This is the oldest of Poker plays, played with a standard deck of cards. The aim is to make card
structures and combinations, with raising and re-raising allowed at various points of play.
Stud:
In stud Poker, the player receives a mixture of face-up and face-down cards, followed by rounds of
betting. The modern version is the seven-card stud. Players still need to make the best five-card
combination that they can muster, but they have seven cards with which to do it.
Draw:
In draw Poker, players are dealt complete hands before the first round of betting. The hand is then
developed by “drawing” or replacing cards. The most common variation is called five-card draw.
House rules will often limit the number of cards that can be replaced. This is usually set at three
cards. Also, the very bottom of a card deck is never allowed to be handed out as a replacement in
order to militate against potential cheating.
An ante is a forced bet that applies to everyone involved in the game. A blind, for the most part,
applies to the two players left of the dealer only. Ante amounts tends to be lower
than blind amounts.
Spades are said to
represent Merchants
Clubs represent
peasants
Diamonds represent
Merchants
•
Gardena jackpots: Gardena confirms to the standard rules of draw poker but
includes a single joker that acts as a wildcard bug.
•
Kansas City lowball:
Kansas City lowball ascribes advantageous hand values to 2s through 7s inclusive. It’s called “deuce-to-seven low”. So, any combination making use of an 8 or higher (including an ace) is essentially worthless.
•
California lowball:
Like its Kansas City counterpart, California lowball uses
“ace-to-five low” hand values with a joker in the deck.
•
California high/low split: This version is played with a single joker with high and low hands (using “ace-to-five low” values for the low hand). An 8-high or better low is required to win the low hand. If no hand qualifies for low, the high hand takes the whole pot.
•
Badugi and Baduci: Badugi makes use of four hands, and all cards are of different ranks and suits. Any duplication in suit or rank is immediately discarded when evaluating the hierarchy of hands. The ultimate hand would be a four-card badugi.
•
Q-Ball: Q-Ball is a lowball game played with three blinds and one joker and “ace-to-five low” card values.
•
High/Low + declare:
This is played like a normal version of a five-card draw, but with a simultaneous declaration phase. It works like this:
1. Each player takes two chips from his stack and “hides” them under the table.
2. He brings up a closed fist that contains either no chips (indicating that he wants to win the low half of the pot), one chip (indicating the high half), or two chips
(indicating both ways).
•
Double-draw/
Tri ple-draw: This is more of a variation within a variation. Almost any draw poker subset can be played in a series of draw phases and betting rounds.
•
Spit in the ocean:
Each player is dealt four cards, with a fifth card acting as a community-value card in the centre of the table. After the first round of betting, each player may draw and replace an equal number of cards from the shoe. This variation is something of a community/draw poker hybrid.
Hearts represent
the clergy
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Poker
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Poker
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SkInny mInnIe/Shotgun/Roll
out
Five cards are dealt to each player, and after a round of betting there begins a “rollout” section,
where each player arranges their cards in a chosen order (face down). Each player will then reveal
their top card, and a new round of betting commences. Players will then reveal their next card,
followed once again by a round of betting and so on and so forth. Players may not reorder their
cards after their initial placement. The high-low split version of this type of play is called “skinny
minnie”, otherwise it’s called “shotgun” or “roll out”.
Variations of community poker
Texas Hold-em
Texas hold-em is by far the most popular variation of communal poker family.
The game works like this:
•
•
anaconda
•
removes exactly three cards from his hand and places them on the table to his left. After each
person has followed suit (excuse the pun), he picks up the cards discarded by his neighbour to
the right and places them in his hand. Each player must discard before looking at the cards he is
about to receive.
•
•
communIty
•
•
applies to the card combinations of all players actively in the round. These communal cards can
also be termed “shared” or “window” cards (the latter an obvious reference to the fact that they’re
visible to everyone).
Two cards are dealt face down to each player
Two players are designated as the big and small blinds – forced bet in a 2:1 ratio. The
big blind is equivalent to the minimum bet. In tournament, this bet typically increases as
the game moves along.
blind and moving clockwise.
A round of betting continues until every player has folded, put in all of their chips, or
matched the amount put in by all other active players.
proceeded by another round of betting.
There is now just one more round of betting, following by the grand showdown
In the showdown phase, each player must try to form the best poker hand he can muster from the
A player could choose to
cards form the player’s best hand, then the player is said to be playing the board, which doesn’t
texas hold’em
video poker
to form exactly the same hand.
Other variations include Omaha hold’em, Crazy pineapple, Chowaha, East v illage…. and the list
goes on…
Video Poker
v ideo poker is really the table-based equivalent of draw poker. Players elect to retain certain cards
and discard others based on the probability of certain hands. On a psychological level, video poker
does away with the fundamentally social-based nature of the game. This is immensely attractive
for some players, who might love the game but who are not necessarily socially skilled in the art
of deception and gambling trickery.
As a game, video poker stands as something of a hybrid development, sitting half way between
the slot reels and the poker tables. Rather than deal¬ing physical cards, video poker is all about
arriving at optimal combinations of random-number generated card values. Players will tend to
Poker
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Poker
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Flush
It’s all in
the Hand
A flush is made up of any five cards of the same suit, irrespective of number.
Full House
It’s now time to look at the different playable poker hands. We’ll start out with the smallest and
most humble hands and move to the grandest and most impressive ones.
The full house is an iconic poker combination, consisting of a three of a kind plus a pair.
One Pair
Four of a kind
In this example, you have the best single pair that possible: aces. In a face-off between two hands
that both have a pair, the highest pair will win.
Two Pair
A four of a kind (in this case, the series of 5s) is considered a very rare hand if there are
no wild cards in play. As you can see, the hand is comprised of four same-value cards plus
one unrelated card.
Straight flush
Like a single pair, where there’s competition between different sets of two pair hands, the one with
the highest pair will trump.
A straight flush is considered the strongest hand in poker. It’s essentially the combination of
a straight and a flush. In other words, the numbers that make up the sequence also share
the same suit.
Three of a Kind
Any three cards of the same denomination.
Straight
A straight is a sequential, numbered combination, irrespective of suit. An ace can either be a low
card or a high card in a straight, whichever benefits the player. The only limitation, however, is that
an ace can’t bridge a king and a two.
Poker
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Poker
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betting rules
& strategies
Hand Development
Cards may be dealt either face-up or face-down, depending on the kind of poker you’re playing.
Between rounds, the players’ hands develop in some way. A hand that is winning after the flop
can be easily beaten by other hands once the turn and river cards are revealed.
Here’s an example to illustrate.
Until the initial bet is made each player may check, open or fold. A check means that no bet will
be placed; an open refers to the first bet that’s made. A player who is dissatisfied and pessimistic
about his opening cards (and one who has chosen not to bluff his way through the round) may
also fold. There are sometimes variations on this basic gameplay according the kind of poker
that’s in play (straight, stud, draw, or community).
Players in a poker game act when it’s their turn, in clockwise rotation. The first verbal declaration
or action he takes binds him to his choice of action; this rule prevents a player from changing his
action after seeing how other players react to his initial, verbal intention.
To Call or Raise
Let’s trace the development of this hand step by step:
• Before the community cards are revealed, it’s clear that the best hand in this scenario is hand #1. A pair of aces beats any other hand that’s only the board.
• But then the flop is revealed. Suddenly, hand #2 is the best hand with 3 Jacks. A three of a kind trumps a pair of aces.
• At fourth street, it is now hand #3 that has the best combination with a king-high straight (9, 10, J, Q, K).
• At fifth street, the best combination now moves to hand #4, with an ace-high flush. Nothing can beat this current combination in this round.
As you can see, the definition of
what constitutes the “best hand” is
constantly changing and evolving as
the game develops.
When a player calls, he commits to matching the current bet. A round of betting can only be
completed when all players either bet an amount equal to the current wagering sum or have
raised it. If a player calls a raise without first having invested money in the pot, he is said to
be cold calling.
When a player makes a raise, he’s increasing the qualifying betting amount that other players
must match if they want to continue playing. The raise must be at the very least equal to the
previous betting amount, and many games will decide in advance what the minimum raise must
be. In Hold’em style poker, at least, the minimum raise will equal to the value of the big blind.
The minimum raise rule serves two primary functions: it speeds up the game and just as
importantly it ensures that when a raise is made it’s made legitimately and seriously. A player
cannot perform something called a string raise, which is where he’ll attempt to use subterfuge
to suss out his opponents often-subtle reactions and play accordingly.
Bluffing
Broadly speaking, the objective of a bluff is to make one or more of your opponents fold even
where they in fact have a better hand.
There’s a critical tension here between bluffing too often and not bluffing enough. If a player bluffs
too frequently, or gives away too many gesticulatory cues that
he’s faking a good hand, astute opponents could do something
called “snapping off” his bluffs, meaning they’ll call or re-raise
him as and when he fakes it. This can backfire badly on the
player who’s unskilled in the subtleties of good bluffing strategy.
Once opponents are onto a bad bluffer, they will simply
counter-bluff him, laughing all the way to the bank while they
take his money. On the other hand, if a player bluffs too
sparingly, observant opponents will recognize that the player is
betting for value and will call with very strong hands or with
drawing hands only when they are receiving favourable pot odds.
Call:
To match a bet or raise.
Raise:
To increase the size of the bet required to stay in the pot.
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Poker
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What kind of hands
to play and when
Reading your opponent’s potential bluffs takes a fair bit of practice and even then you’ll only
really succeed by watching each carefully throughout the rounds of play. Bluffing, it must be
remembered, can be both physical (facial tics, hand movements, shuffling around uncomfortably)
or betting-based (raise frequency and quantity). What’s common to both of these forms of bluffing
is the desire to construct/fake a particular impression that isn’t necessarily true. Of course, you
could equally just be facing a series of sneaky double-bluffs (meaning your opponent is
misleadingly misleading you). That’s why it’s critical that you isolate each opponent’s individual
style of play and determine how they react to the game in different circumstances.
What you do with your hand and when is often a function of where you are in the game.
We’ll divide the game into the early, middle, and late stages.
Bluffing a Good Hand
Here are some tips for strategic play at different points of the game.
Here are some common signs that a player has a good hand that he’s trying to conceal:
•
•
•
•
Acting uninterested in a hand
Fast breathing
Sighing and shrugging
Glancing back and forth at chips
Big Pair plus Ace/King
Bluffing a Bad Hand
A pair of aces or face cards, plus one other very high card likely means you should raise in the
early middle and late positions.
Common signs that a player is trying to conceal a bad hand:
•Visual intimidation/Staring you down
•Holding breath
Middle Pair
Bluffing an Intermediate Hand
With an intermediate hand you either need to bluff your way through the round and hope you’re
successful enough that players won’t recognize that you’re bluffing, or you’d need to just fold the
early and minimize your losses. Part of being a good poker player is knowing when to bet high and
went to bow out of the round.
Signs that your opponent has a Draw HAnd
•
•
Checking your hole cards after the flop
Waiting a long time before placing a bet
A middle pair usually refers to a pair of 8s, 9s, 10s or jacks. It’s probably a good idea to raise in the
early and middle positions, here, again when you’ve had a chance to see the flop. Avoid raising in
the late position. If pushed, it’s probably wiser just to fold.
Small Pairs
If you have a small pair, your goal should probably be to just see the flop. Only raise if you have
full command of the table and the blinds are on the conservative side. In middle position if there
are no raises, then you might want to consider staying in the round but otherwise try and suss out
your opponent’s play first. Only if no one has raised by the late position of the
Poker
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Poker
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A few points on...
Going “all in”
Straddle Bets
Going all in tends to mean that either a player has an incredibly powerful hand and is willing to
A straddle bet is made after the big and small blinds are posted, but before the cards are dealt.
This type of bet allows a player to have the privilege of the last betting action. n ormally, this is
something reserved for the big blind. Although the big blind is forced to make a bet without seeing
even staking his entire fortune on his ability (or lack thereof) to deceive. A fundamental rule of
going all in is the principal that a player may not win any more money from any other player than
the amount of his bet. So, for instance, if the current bidding amount is $400, but the player only
has $50 worth of chips left, that player can go all in and stay in the round, but he is not eligible to
win any more than $50 from each active player. If the player goes any higher than that, then the
excess operates on a side pot basis and is available only to the players who have actually
contributed money to it Where there are multiple players left, then naturally, multiple side pots
can be created and played for.
Going all in can be something of a strategic advantage to player who’s’ staking all his chips:
he can continue in the round without risking any more money.
round before deciding how he’ll place future bets. Straddle base tend to be illegal in most online
casinos and in many tournaments.
A few closing Words
We hope you’ve enjoyed this poker guide.
n ow that you’re armed with the basics, it’s time to go out and learn the art of poker practically. you
might want to start by organizing a few casual rounds at home with your friends. If you’re keen to
then the player is considered automatically all in for the ensuing round - covering blinds and
Golden Riviera Casino and practice playing on our video poker machines?
Once you understand fully the technical side of the game, you’ll be a strong position to begin
Limits
Good l uck!
True to its word, a no-limit game means that players are allowed to raise their bets by any amount.
There will generally be a minimum opening bid and minimum raises, though.
In a pot limit game, a player may not raise more than the size of the total pot. They of course may
raise less, but this is subject to table minimums. The purpose of a pot limit is to prevent players
from simply leveraging all of his betting resources in an effort to force other players to fold
or go all in.
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A
spread limit game often requires players to be even more adept at the art and science of
they have strong hands and very low when they have weak ones. Conversely, it is also
considered a fairly amateur move to simplistically bet the opposite way–that is, misleadingly
betting low a strong hand in going in high with the weak hand. The key here to betting in a spread
limit game is strategic deception, discernment and subterfuge, and in many ways good old game
experience.
The precise wagering
bet” option. Fixed-limit games can also be played as kill games. In a kill game, if a player has won
an amount that’s higher than the predetermined limit values, then he’ll be required to make
something called a kill bet, which tends to be between 1.5 and 2 times the amount of the big blind.
Poker
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Poker
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