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Poker gamesStud Poker RulesThe basic concept of Stud Poker games is that each player has a certain number of cards face-down and a certain number face-up. The face-down cards (or "cards in the hole") are cards that only each player can see. The face-up cards, however, are the ones that all players at the table can see in each other player's hand. In typical seven-card stud, each player by the end of the game has three cards face-down that nobody can see, and four cards face-up that the whole table to see. In typical five-card stud, each player has one card face-down and four cards face-up by the end of the game. Learn to play poker at the Pacific Poker School! - 27 lessons and 25% bonus!! Typical Stud: Stud games are normally played with either five or seven cards. In typical Seven Card Stud, as mentioned above, the cards in each player's hand end up being two face-down, four face-up, and one face-down. In typical Five Card Stud, the cards in each player's hand end up being one face-down, and four face-up. Of course, variations are endless. Wild Cards: It is rare that the dealer calls a wild card flat-out. "Kings are wild", for example, would mean that if a player is dealt a King face-up, everybody can see it and be discouraged by it. Stipulations are almost always involved. For example, "Kings are wild if you get one dealt face-down" or otherwise said, "Kings are wild in the hole". Common exceptions are Kings and Little Ones and Follow the Queen. Other stipulations could involve a player's lowest card dealt face-down is wild, in which case if a player's lowest card in the hole is a Three, and he also has a Three among his face-up cards, both Threes are wild. Again, it is best when a player's wild cards require that they be face-down. That way, nobody knows who has a wild card in their hand until all is said and done. High / Low: This is very common in Stud games. At the end of a High/Low game, the pot is split between the player with the best hand at the table and the player with the worst hand. This is a feature that can be added to just about any Stud game, in addition to a game's other rules. It encourages more players to stay in the game longer, although the pot gets split two ways. Players also have the option of calling "pig", that is presenting two different five card hands with their seven cards to attempt to win both High and Low. A player calling "pig" must have both the High and the Low or wins nothing; if, for example, a player wins the Low, but not the High, then that player wins nothing and the next best Low hand wins that half of the pot. The player who calls "pig" and wins both wins the entire pot. Lowball: The lowest hand at the table wins the pot. Depending on the House Rule where you're playing, the perfect low hand varies. Some tables play that Straights and Flushes count against you (with the logic that a Straight or a Flush is a good regular poker hand, and therefore, a bad Lowball hand), other tables play that Aces cannot be low, while still other tables play that Straights and Flushes do not count against you, and Aces can be low. This would need to be established before the deal, either by the dealer or prevalent House Rule. If Straights do not count against you, then the perfect low would be a A-2-3-4-5. If Straights do count against you and Aces can be low, then the perfect low would be an A-2-3-4-6. If Straights do count against you and Aces cannot be low, then you're playing a game called Kansas City Lowball, and the perfect low would be a 2-3-4-5-7. It is found that the most common form of Lowball involves the A-2-3-4-6 as the best low hand. New York Stud: This variation, which can be added to any Stud game, adds the stipulation that an outside straight beats a pair. An outside straight being four of a player's cards in numerical sequence, or four cards to a straight, this stipulation adds a new rank to the what-beats-what table. The outside straight beats a Pair, but loses to Two Pair. If, through the course of the game, a player has the outside straight showing face-up, that player bets over one who only has a pair showing. Canadian Stud: This variation plays just like New York Stud, on top of which a fourflush beats an outside straight. A fourflush being four of a player's cards of the same suit, or four cards to a flush, this stipulation adds two new ranks to the what-beats-what table. The outside straight beats a Pair, the fourflush beats an outside straight, but Two Pair beats a fourflush. A player with a fourflush showing bets over a player with an outside straight showing, who bets over a player with a Pair showing. Note: four cards to a Straight Flush is no better than a fourflush; in fact, it is nothing more than a fourflush. Spanish Stud: This variation can also be added to any Stud game. To play Spanish poker, all of the Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, and Sixes are removed from the deck. This is a total of 20 cards removed, leaving 32 cards that are played. Spanish five-card stud could be played at six people, but Spanish seven-card stud could be played by no more than four players, if only one deck is used. Bet or Drop: This variation can also be added to any Stud game. The stipulation that it adds is that the player who opens the betting round by having the best hand showing, must open with at least the table's minimum bet or fold. The option to 'check' or 'pass' is removed, as that player is required to open with at least a minimum bet. Typically, the dealer will announce a slight increase in the table's minimum bet for purposes of this variation. Cold Hands: Also called Showdown, a less popular variation where ante is significantly higher, as there are no betting rounds. All cards are dealt face-up in sequence. The best hand wins. Typically used, on top of winning a set pot, to determine the first dealer of the night, or as a final quick game. Draw Poker Rules The Theme The basic premise behind Draw Poker is that all cards are dealt face-down to players, who have the option to change a certain number of the cards dealt to them for new cards from the deck. For many, this is the first style of poker learned, typically from Five Card Draw. In Five Card Draw, five cards are dealt to each player and in sequence, each has the option to exchange for new cards from the deck. Players are obviously trying to improve the state of their hand by discarding those cards that add the least value. The typical structure of a Draw Poker game is that cards are dealt to each player, followed by a betting round. Those players that get through the betting round are allowed a draw of cards from the deck. The draw is followed by another betting round, and then, showdown. Some players are accustomed to a draw before the first betting round. It is however preferable to have a betting round before the draw so that players must first pay the price to get to the draw. The dealer calling the game will typically determine how many cards each player is allowed to draw. When making this decision, the dealer needs to ensure that there are enough cards in the deck to allow each player their maximum draw. The dealer may call more than one draw. For example, five card draw with two draws of two cards. This would mean that players are going to have two opportunities to exchange as many as two cards with new ones from the deck. An additional draw round means an additional betting round. In this case, there would be three betting rounds: one before the first draw, one in between the two draws, and the last after the second draw. The number of cards that a player takes on the draw should also be used as one predictor of the player's hand. A player taking one card, for example, likely has two pairs, or four cards to a straight or flush. The features that follow can be added to any Draw Poker game, including regular old Five Card Draw. Each is a variant on the game, thus creating a new game. Through experience, you will find which features (if any) best suit the games most often played at your table. Roll Your Own Draw Poker games are popular with wild cards, determined in advance by the dealer. This variant allows players to determine what card they want to have wild in their hand. Obviously, if they have two or three cards that match, they will determine that that card is wild in their hand. Or, one low card and a pair of Aces becomes three Aces. Pay For Your Draw This is a feature that can be used to build the pot of any Draw Poker game. The dealer attaches a 'price' to drawing a card. For example, the dealer determines that it costs one dollar for each card that a player wants to draw. A player drawing three cards would have to put three dollars into the pot on top of the amount accumulated from betting. Leg Poker This feature is more like two games in one. Most commonly played as double-legged poker, this variation requires that a player win the game twice before he can collect the pot. The game plays as it normally would, except that when a player wins with the best hand, that player does not yet collect the pot. Instead, that players has earned a leg towards winning the pot. The pot remains in the center of the table, and the same game is dealt again, complete with betting rounds. The first player to win two legs wins the giant pot. A Three-Legged Race is triple-legged poker, where a player must win three legs before claiming the pot. High / Low This feature is 'split-pot poker', where the pot is split between TWO winning players. In High/Low, the pot is split between the player that has the best hand at the table, and the player that has the worst hand at the table. Lowball This is 'all-low poker'. The worst hand at the table wins the pot. It is especially challenging in Draw Poker, where you may draw higher cards than the ones you threw away, or where you may accidentally pair up with one of the cards in your hand. Roll 'Em This is a feature that can be used to increase the number of betting rounds in a Draw Poker game. When players 'roll' their cards, they reveal them from their hand ONE CARD AT A TIME. After each player has shown a card from their hand to the rest of the table, a betting round follows opened by the player with the best hand showing. Players reveal their cards simultaneously so that there is no advantage gained. In this way, it is a Draw game being played like a Stud game. New York Draw Made popular by John Scarne, in this game, an outside straight, that is four cards in numerical sequence without break, beats a pair but loses to two pairs. This variant offers (or is meant to offer) more reason to chase a straight. Canadian Draw This game plays the same as New York Draw, on top of which a fourflush, that is four of your five cards are of the same suit, beats an outside straight but loses to two pairs. Therefore, the hierarchy of hands in this game is Pair, Outside Straight, Fourflush, Two Pairs. Evidently, Scarne believed that people in Canada play poker like this. Spanish Draw This variation, which can be added to any poker game, means that all Twos to Sixes are removed from the deck. That means twenty cards out of play, and 32 cards remaining. Everything otherwise plays the same. With A Qualifier When a qualifier is added to a Draw Poker game, it means that for a player to open the betting round before the draw, that player must have a hand of minimum value determined by the dealer. For example, if the dealer determines that a pair of Jacks or better are required for a player to open the first betting round, then the player wishing to bet must show the other players at the table the cards from his hand that meet the qualifier. That player then returns the cards to his hand and opens the betting round. The betting round is followed by the draw. If no player has the qualifier, then nobody can open the first betting round, in which case the game is 'reset'. That is, all cards are re-dealt and all players must 're-ante'. This continues until somebody has the qualifier to open the first betting round. With The Bug This is a feature usually used for the entire night. In it, one Joker is put into the deck. That Joker is called 'the bug', but it has limited wild card value. It can only be used to complete a Straight or a Flush. Otherwise, it has no value. This would be stipulated as opposed to tables that play with Jokers as wild cards that have no limited wild card value and can be designated as any card to complete any hand. Guts Poker Rules Every Guts game falls under thhe same guidelines: after the cards are dealt, players decide if they are "in" or "out" of the game. Those players that call "out" have no further stakes in the hand. They are out of the game for now, letting those players that called "in" continue playing. Of those players who called "in", the one who has the best hand collects the pot. All other players who called "in" and did not have the best hand at the table must match the amount of money in the pot. Now, there is an equal or greater amount of money in the pot, even after the round has ended. So, the cards are picked up, shuffled, and the same game is dealt again, with players again deciding if they will go "in" or "out". This continues until only one player goes in...that player wins the pot and the game is over. Doing the math, if three people call "in", the amount of money in the pot will double...one person will win the money, while the other two match the pot. Guts games are characterized by this calling of "in" or "out" as well as the growing size of the pot, and the game being played and played until only one person calls "in" and wins. Note that, for this reason, Guts games are typically more expensive to play. Caps: Guts games are the one type of gamee where the term "small stakes" is thrown out the window. People will often assume that *10-*30 will suffice for a night of playing Home poker, but a good game of Jacks and Piss will see the pot rise higher than a week's pay. For this reason, some people play with caps. Caps limit how big the pot can get and how much money a player can lose in one hand. For example, the dealer who calls the Guts game may determine that there is a five dollar cap on the game. What this means is that if the pot ever reaches more than five dollars, a player who wins it only claims five dollars of it, and a player who loses only pays five dollars. A cap means that no player can win or lose more than that amount of money. If, for example, there is six dollars in the pot and three players go in. The one of the three who wins, who would normally collect all six dollars, will collect only five of the six dollars in the pot. The two of the three who lose, who would normally pay all six dollars, will pay only five dollars into the pot. The advantage to this is that players do not lose their shirt, they only lose as much as the cap. The first disadvantage to this is that a lone player who goes "in" on a six dollar pot only claims five of it, and the game is redealt for the new one dollar pot (which goes against the Guts principle that when a single player goes "in", the game is over). This leads into the second disadvantage, which is that the game is played a lot longer, because a ten dollar pot, for example, will require at least two wins to clear it out, even if a single player goes "in" each time. The third disadvantage is that caps are supposed to be to players' benefit, whereas it normally encourages them to call "in" more, knowing they can lose no more than the pot's cap. I personally do not like caps. If a pot exceeds players' expectations, it is because of bad calls and bad luck, two things that are supposed to contribute to a bigger pot in Guts games. The Kitty: This is a blind hand dealt facce-down and not revealed to the table until the hand is over. If the particular guts games involves five cards being dealt to each player, then a five-card kitty is dealt as well, kept near the dealer, and only turned up at the end of the round. The purpose of the kitty is that those players who go "in" must not only beat the other players who have gone "in" but they must also beat the kitty's hand. It is the extra hand that belongs to the pot that nobody sees until the end of the round. The feature that this adds to the guts game is that if the kitty has the best hand at the table, everybody who went "in" loses and matches the pot. Now, the guts game ends when only one person goes "in"...and beats the kitty. The kitty does not get a draw but it is not rare to see the kitty beat everybody at the table. The main advantage of the kitty is to eliminate the dealer advantage. If everybody before the dealer calls "out", that dealer would normally win the game by default, calling "in" and having no other hands to beat. Now, that dealer would have to beat the kitty's hand in order to collect the pot. Otherwise, the pot is claimed by nobody and that dealer matches the pot. I favour kitties, especially in Guts games that involve a draw. Coin Declare: One way of calling "in" or "out" is by simply going in sequence after the dealer, starting with the player to the dealer's left and ending with the dealer himself. The disadvantage to this is that a player's decision is based on who called "in" or "out" before him, as opposed to all players declaring "in" or "out" at the same time. The coin declare is a method whereby all players declare at the same time. All players hide both hands and a chip (or coin) under the table, bringing up one closed hand over the table. If the player wants to go "in", then he has placed the chip in this hand to be dropped on the table. If the player wants to go "out", he has kept the chip in the hand that is not raised over the table. At the count of three, all players open their hands over the table. Those who drop the chip have declared themselves "in", the rest are "out". The purpose of this is so players cannot see who before them has called "in" or "out", instead all players are declaring their status at the same time, no turning back. It's all Guts: A Guts theme can be added to just about any Poker game, especially Draw games. The dealer simply states that the game (Snowmen and Hockey Sticks, for example) requires before the draw that each player declare "in" or "out". Those that are "out" are out of the game until it is redealt. Those that are "in" are allowed a draw (the betting round is optional) and of them, the one with the best hand collects the pot, the rest match it. When a Guts game involves a draw, the dealer must determine, when players match the pot, if they match the amount that it is there after there has been betting or the amount that was in there at the time they declared "in". For example, do players matching the pot of a Draw Guts game that starts at five dollars but sees an extra dollar of betting among those players who called "in" match the five dollar pot or the increased six dollar pot? Everybody Ante: This variation, which cann be added to any Guts game, holds that with each new round of the game, every player re-antes into the pot. Under normal rules, the pot will only increase in size when at least three players go in (the first collects the pot, the second matches the pot, and the third doubles the size of the pot). In Everybody Ante however, the pot increases at least by the size of every players' antes with each round. This variation is used primarily in Guts games that tend to end quickly, and require being spiced up. In addition, the dealer may also determine that the winner of the last round is not required to re-ante, but all other players must. Best Hand Pays: This variation, which cann be added to any Guts game, holds that if no player enters the pot, then all players have to show their hands to the rest of the table. The player who has the best hand must ante for EVERYBODY before the game is redealt. The pot is now doubled in size. The variation is meant to 'punish' the player who had the best hand at the table and didn't enter the pot with it. Betting Basics If there are no bets to you (It is checked to you) Bet: You can put in one bet into the pot. Now all the players must call that bet by also putting in the same amount of money, or else they must fold. Check: You can choose not to put in any money into the pot. If no one bets, then the game continues and everyone is still in the hand. If someone else bets, then you have a decision to make... If there is a bet to you Fold: You don't put in any more money, but you are out of the hand and cannot win any money. Any money you have put into the pot up to this point is lost. Call: You put in money equal to the amount bet so far. You stay in the hand. Play continues and the next card is dealt, unless someone else raises. (If there are no more cards, then there is a showdown) Raise: You put money into the pot equal to the amount bet so far, plus one bet. Now, all the other players must call your raise or fold. They may also reraise you. Showdown If there is more than one player left after all the cards have been dealt, and everyone has called on the last round of betting after that card is dealt, then those players showdown their hands. Whoever is holding the best poker hand wins all the money in the pot. If there is a tie, then all tying hands split the pot in equal amounts. The poker room will also take a rake from the pot before it is distributed to the winner or winners. The rake is the house's share and is usually a few cents on the dollar. Win by default If everyone except one player folds, then that player gets all the money in the pot, minus the rake. He does not have to show his hand to the other players. Betting tactics Reraise: Someone else raises you, but you feel that you have a very strong hand, and you want to make your opponent pay to stay in the hand. Then you can reraise him and force him to put in another bet to stay in. Some poker rooms will let two players reraise each other indefinitely. Others will cap the number of total bets at 4, or some other number. Most online poker rooms cap you at 4 bets in each betting round. (The betting is only capped for limit poker; no-limit and pot-limit games do not have betting caps). Check-raise: You hold a strong hand, and you are greedy. You want to take more than just one bet from your opponent. So you check, your opponent bets, and you raise him. Now he calls, and if your hand is as good as you think it is, you just won two bets from him. Check-raising is a powerful tool, but it can be dangerous, because your opponent might also check. Then you win no money from him. Or, he might have an even better hand then you, and he might reraise you. Check-and-call: If you have a decent hand, but you think there is a good chance your opponent might have a better one, you may wish to avoid a raise. In this case, you can check-and-call. Blinds If you can fold without putting in money, why doesn't a player just fold all the time until he gets a great hand? This is prevented by forcing each player to pay a "tax" on the hands he plays. This tax comes in the form of blind bets also known as blinds. Each hand, one player at the table puts in a big blind (BB), and the player in front of him puts in a small blind (SB). In most internet games the small blind is half the size of the big blind. The big blind is the size of a small bet in a limit game. The blind bet is paid regardless of whether the player likes his cards or not. The other players must call (or raise) the blind bet or else they must fold. The player in the small blind must make up the difference between the BB and SB in order to stay in the hand. So if the big blind was *2 and the small blind was *1, the player in the small blind would have to pay *1 to stay in the hand. Position The blinds rotate each hand. The person to the left of the dealer pays the small blind, and the person to the left of the small blind pays the big blind. In the preflop betting round, the player to the left of the big blind is the first to bet, and the big blind is the last to bet. In all rounds after that, the small blind is the first to bet, and the dealer is last to bet. Position is very important in poker, and here's why: Information is power in poker, and each bet gives away information. If a person bets before you, he gives you information you need to make your bet. On the other hand, he has to make his bet without the information contained in your bet. Limit Poker Limit poker is just what it sounds like. The bets are limited to a specific size, you cannot make a smaller or larger bet. The size of the limits will be in the name of the poker game. For, example, you might decide to play a *1-2 Limit game. Here's what the sizes of the bets would be: Preflop: *1 (AKA a small bet) On the flop: *1 On the turn: *2 (AKA a big bet) On the river: *2 The above table shows how much one bet would be at any stage of the hand. So before the flop, one bet would be *1. And on the river, one bet would be *2. No-Limit Poker No-Limit involves the most strategy of all the betting structures. It is also a very fun game although it is very intense. In each hand you could potentially win or lose a fortune. There is no limit to the maximum bet you can make in any betting round. However, there is a minimum bet similar to limit poker. For example: Preflop: *1 (AKA a small bet) On the flop: *1 On the turn: *2 (AKA a big bet) On the river: *2 Now, what happens if another player bets *200, but you only have *100 at the table You can go all-in on your *100. If you win the hand, you get only *100 from your opponent. If two other players bet *200, and you only have *100, then you would win *100 from each of them. Then the winner between the two of them would get the remaining money (the sidepot). Having more money at the table is a huge advantage at the table in no-limit games. Because of this, most poker rooms will limit the amount of money a player can bring to the table initially. However, a player can win money and thus build a larger stack of chips and this would give him an advantage over the other players. Pot-Limit Poker Pot-Limit is a popular game in Europe and in online games. It is very similar to No-Limit poker. The minimum bet is structured like in Limit Poker, and the maximum bet is the amount of money in the pot. Many people play pot-limit because they find No-Limit and Pot-Limit games to be very fun, but they think that Pot-Limit is less dangerous than No-Limit. It is true that it is slightly less dangerous, because another player cannot put you all-in unless the pot has been building. However, in reality, you are at a huge disadvantage if you are playing scared - if you fold because you don't want the pot to build, then you will fold winners. And if you refuse to bet strong when you have a good hand, then you are not being aggressive enough on your big winners. It really is true that less money is bet, since players cannot overbet the pot. So if you want a slightly less risky game than NL, then playing pot-limit is okay. But you need to realize that you must be prepared to bet your entire stack or lose your entire stack. Online Poker State - recently published Gambling articles: [Articles Section (View all articles)] All About Full Tilt Poker The term "full tilt poker" basically means online poker. Access to an online site is easy, one such site is fulltiltpoker, and the site introduces you to online poker to the max.... Written by Jason Smith - 7/20/2007 9:32:43 AM Casino games. There are still new online casino games. The first of our today's games is the successor of super-popular Texas Hold'em. The rules of The Texas Hold'em Bonus game (it is in casino with Cryptologic software) are quite similar to the rules of club hold'em.... Written by Arthur Prudent - 7/19/2007 9:32:43 AM Recent Month's Articles: 
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