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POKER - basic introduction

(For the following variants, click on the name:- five-card draw ; seven-card stud ; Texas hold 'em )

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In order to play, one must learn the basic rules and procedures of the game, the values of the various combinations of cards (see hand), and the rules about betting limits (see betting).

Poker is a card game, the most popular of a class of games called vying games, in which players with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a central pot, which is awarded to the remaining player or players with the best combination of cards.

There are also many variants of poker, loosely categorized as draw poker, stud poker, community card poker (a.k.a. "widow game"), and miscellaneous poker games. The most commonly played games of the first three categories are five-card draw, seven-card stud, and Texas hold 'em, respectively; each being a common starting point for learning games of the type.

Dealer's choice is a way to play poker where the dealer chooses what type of poker to play.

The game of poker is played in hundreds of variations, but the following overview of game play applies to most of them.

Depending on the game rules, one or more players may be required to place an initial amount of money into the pot before the cards are dealt. These are called forced bets and come in three forms: antes, blinds, and bring-ins.

Like most card games, the dealer shuffles the deck of cards. The deck is then cut, and the appropriate number of cards are dealt face-down to the players. In a casino a "house" dealer handles the cards for each hand, but a button (any small item used as a marker, also called a buck) is rotated among the players to determine the order of dealing and betting in certain games. In a home game, the right to deal the cards typically rotates among the players clockwise, but a button may still be used.

After the initial deal, the first of what may be several betting rounds begins. Between rounds, the players' hands develop in some way, often by being dealt additional cards or replacing cards previously dealt. During a round of betting, there will always be a current bet amount, which is the total amount of money bet in this round by the player who bet last in this round. To keep better track of this, it is conventional for players to not place their bets directly into the pot (called splashing the pot), but rather place them in front of themselves toward the pot, until the betting round is over. When the round is over, the bets are then gathered into the pot.

After the first betting round is completed (every participating player having called an equal amount), there may be more rounds in which more cards are dealt in various ways, followed by further rounds of betting (into the same central pot). At any time during the first or subsequent betting rounds, if one player makes a bet and all other players fold, the deal ends immediately, the single remaining player is awarded the pot, no cards are shown, no more rounds are dealt, and the next deal begins. This is what makes it possible to bluff.

At the end of the last betting round, if more than one player remains, there is a showdown in which the players reveal their previously hidden cards and evaluate their hands. The player with the best hand according to the poker variant being played wins the pot.

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DEFINITIONS

Hand

A hand in poker can mean any of the following:

The second and third definitions are often used interchangeably. For example, in Texas hold 'em, a player holding A♣ K♠, with a board of A♥ K♣ K♦ 7♠ 3♦ , might say, "my hand is ace-king". However, his best 5-card hand (the portion of the hand which determines value) is the kings-over-aces full house.

General rules

The following general rules apply to evaluating poker hands, whatever set of hand values are used.

Ranking of hands

The most common ranking of hands is as follows:

The hands are ranked in this order because of their relative probabilities, with rarer hands ranking above more common hands.

An additional hand type, five of a kind, exists when wild cards are used. Five of a kind outranks the straight flush (and therefore the royal flush too) making it the most valuable hand.

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Variations

Some games called lowball or low poker are played where players strive not for the highest ranking of the above combinations but for the lowest ranking hand. There are three methods of ranking low hands, called Ace-to-five low, Deuce-to-seven low, and Ace-to-six low. The ace-to-five method is most common. A sub-variant within this category is high-low poker, in which the highest and lowest hands split the pot (with the highest hand taking any odd chips if the pot does not divide equally). Sometimes straights and/or flushes count in determining which hand is highest but not in determining which hand is lowest (being reckoned as a no-pair hand in the latter instance), so that a player with such a holding can win both ways and thus take the entire pot.

Certain variants use hands of only three cards, either high or low. Three-card low hands can be ranked by any of the three methods above, although with three cards they become ace-to-three (rather than ace-to-five), deuce-to-five, and ace-to-four. The ace-to-three method is the most common, just as the ace-to-five method is most common method for five cards. Three-card high hands are ranked in one of two ways: either with or without straights and flushes. Without them (which is the most common, and used such games as Chinese poker), the hands are simply no pair, one pair, and three of a kind. If you add straights and flushes, the order of hands should be changed to reflect the correct probabilities: no pair, one pair, flush, straight, three of a kind, straight flush. This order is used, for example, in Mambo stud.

Some poker games are played with a deck that has been stripped of certain cards, usually low-ranking ones. For example, the Australian game of Manila uses a 32-card deck in which all cards below the rank of 7 are removed, and Mexican stud removes the 8s, 9s, and 10s. In both of these games, a flush ranks above a full house, because having fewer cards of each suit available makes flushes rarer.

Some games add one or more unconventional hands, or have special exceptions to the rules above. For example, in the game of Pai gow poker as played in Nevada, a Wheel (5-4-3-2-A) ranks above a king-high straight, but below an ace-high straight. This is not the case in California, where the nearly identical game is played under the name Double-hand poker using traditional hand values.

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BETTING

This article describes the common terms, rules, and procedures in the game, but does not cover the strategic impact of betting.

The game of poker as played today requires that players agree before play on allowable amounts for betting (called limits), and the use and amount of forced bets. These are collectively called the betting structure of the game.

The betting structure of a poker game is a more significant factor in its balance of luck and skill than the game variant being played. Higher forced bets and smaller limits increase the influence of chance. Smaller forced bets and larger limits increase the element of skill. Good games are carefully balanced so that skillful players will win in the long run while recreational players can win often enough for the game to be exciting to them.

The reason that higher forced bets with smaller limits increases the luck factor is simple enough. With a lot of money in the pot due to the antes, the small forced bet is getting high odds - it is, therefore, worthwhile calling with any hand.

For example, in Texas Hold 'em, suppose the antes are $10 per player, and the blinds are at $5 and $10. With nine players the pot is $105 before the first player to act has to decide whether or not to call the $10 big blind. That first player is getting odds of 10.5 to 1 on a call - this makes any hand worth playing.

Consequently, various skills such as hand selection and reading player's hands are reduced in value and the game becomes a dice-shoot.

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Terminology

Open

The act of making the first non-zero bet in a betting round is called opening the round. On the first betting round, it is also called opening the pot. Some games may have special rules about opening a round that may not apply to other bets. For example, they may have a betting structure that specifies different allowable amounts for opening than for other bets, or they may require a player to hold certain cards to open.

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Call

To call is to make the total amount of one's bet equal to the amount of the immediately preceding bet (which will be the largest bet made in that round). All players must eventually call an equal amount for the betting round to end, or else one player must bet an amount that no one calls, thus ending the entire deal and awarding him the pot.

The second and subsequent calls of a particular bet amount are sometimes called overcalls.

A player calling a raise before he or she has invested money in the pot in that round is cold calling. For example, if in a betting round, Jerry bets, Sally raises, and Eric calls, Eric "calls two bets cold".

A player calling instead of raising with a strong hand is smooth calling, a form of slowplay. Smooth calling is generally done in early betting rounds and against only one or two opponents; otherwise at least one opponent may have too good a chance of drawing out on the smooth caller and the trap backfires.

In public card rooms and casinos where verbal declarations are binding, the word "call" is such a declaration. In particular, the practice commonly seen in poker games on television and in movies of saying "I call, and raise $100" is considered a string raise and is not allowed in a serious poker game. Saying "I call" commits you to the action of calling, and only calling.

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Check

When no one has yet opened the betting round, one may check, which is equivalent to calling the current bet of zero. The player declines making a bet; indicating that he does not choose to open, but that he wishes to keep his cards and retain the right to call or raise later in the same round if some other player opens. A common way to signify checking is to tap the table with a fist or an open hand.

A player with a live blind who chooses not to take advantage of his right to raise is said to check his option, which can be signified the same way.

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Raise

To raise is to make the amount of one's bet greater than the amount of the immediately preceding bet, forcing all subsequent players to call the new amount. If the current bet amount is nothing, this action is considered the opening bet. A player making the second (not counting the open) or subsequent raise of a betting round is often said to reraise.

Except in the case of a live blind, a player may not raise the current bet amount if he is the one who first set it. If it is that player's turn to act who first set the current amount, the betting round is closed and no further betting may take place in this round. This occurs when all other players have either called the amount or folded. All remaining players will have bet an equal total amount (except for some rare cases covered by table stakes rules).

A universal rule in casinos in the United States, and common in home games as well, is that any raise must at least equal the amount of the previous raise. For example, if a player in a spread limit or no limit game bets $5, the next player may raise by another $5 or more, but he may not raise by only $2, even if that would otherwise conform to the game's betting structure. The primary purpose of this rule is to avoid game delays caused by "nuisance" raises (small raises of large bets that do not affect the bet amount much but that take time). This rule is often overridden by table stakes rules, so that a player may in fact raise a $5 bet by $2 if that $2 is his entire remaining stake.

In many casinos, for fixed-limit or spread-limit games, there is a limit to the total number of raises allowed in a single betting round (typically three or four, not including the opening bet of a round). For example in a casino with a three-raise rule, if one player opens the betting for $5, the next raises by $5 making it $10, a third player raises another $5, and a fourth player raises $5 again making the current bet $20, the betting is said to be capped at that point, and no further raises beyond the $20 level will be allowed on that round. It is common to suspend this rule when there are only two players betting in the round (called being heads-up). Pot-limit and no-limit games do not have a limit on the number of raises.

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Fold

Although not specifically a betting action, to fold is to discard one's hand and forfeit any further interest in the hand or the current pot. Also called "drop" or "pass" (the latter term is ambiguous, because it can also mean check). This can be done verbally, or simply signalled by discarding one's hand into the pile of other discards called the muck. In stud poker played in the United States, it is customary to signal folding by turning all of your cards face down. In casinos in the United Kingdom, a player folds by giving his hand as is to the "house" dealer, who will spread the hand's upcards for the other players to see before mucking them.

It is a serious breach of etiquette to fold out of turn, that is, when it is not the folding player's turn to act, because this can harm other players. For example, if there are three players remaining and the first player in turn bets, the third player folding out of turn now would give valuable strategic information to the second player (who is in turn at this point), to the detriment of the bettor. In some games, even folding in turn when you are entitled to check (because there is no bet facing you) is considered an out of turn fold since it gives away information to which players would otherwise not be entitled. Finally, if a player folds out of turn in a stud poker game, the player in turn may demand that his upcards remain exposed until he has completed his turn.

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Forced bets

Ante

An ante is a forced bet in which each player places an equal amount of money or chips into the pot before the deal begins. In home games, the amount of the ante is typically small. In games where the acting dealer changes each turn, it is not uncommon for the players to agree that the dealer provides the ante for each player. This simplifies betting, but causes minor inequities if other players come and go or miss their turn to deal.

After the ante, later betting always begins with the player immediately to the dealer's left.

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Blinds

A blind or blind bet is a forced bet placed into the pot by one or more players before the deal begins, in a way that simulates bets made during play. This is used frequently in casino and tournament games and is designed to ensure there is betting action on each hand. The most common use of blinds as a betting structure calls for two blinds: the player after the dealer blinds about half of what would be a normal bet, and the next player blinds what would be a whole bet. Sometimes only one blind is used, and sometimes three. In the case of three blinds (usually one quarter, one quarter, and half a normal bet amount), the first blind goes "on the button", that is, is paid by the dealer.

For example, the first player to the dealer's left (who would normally be the first to bet after the cards are dealt) makes a blind bet of $1, and the next player in turn posts a big blind of $2. After the cards are dealt, play continues with the next player in turn (third from the dealer), who acts just as if the $1 had been an opening bet and the $2 had been a raise, so he must either call $2, reraise, or fold. When the betting returns to the player who blinded $1, he acts just as if that had been the opening bet; he must equal the bet facing him (toward which he may count his $1), fold, or reraise.

An additional privilege is given to the player who posted the big blind to compensate for the fact that he is forced to bet. If there have been no raises by the time his first turn to bet voluntarily comes (that is, the bet amount facing him is just the $2 he originally put in), then he is given the right to raise at that point, even though his right-hand opponent's call would normally have closed the betting round under other circumstances. This "extra" right to raise (called a live blind) occurs only once: if his raise is now called by every player, the first betting round closes as usual.

In some fixed limit and spread limit games, the big blind amount is less than the normal betting minimum. Players acting after a sub-minimum blind have to the right to call the blind as it is, even though it is less than the amount they would be required to bet, or they may raise the amount needed to bring the current bet up to the normal minimum, called completing the bet. For example, a game with a $5 fixed bet on the first round might have blinds of $1 and $2. Players acting after the blind may either call the $2, or raise to $5. After the bet is raised to $5, the next raise must be to $10 in accordance with the normal limits.

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Bring-ins

A bring-in is a type of forced bet that occurs after the cards are initially dealt, but before any other action. One player, usually chosen by the value of cards dealt face up on the initial deal, is forced to open the betting by some small amount, after which players act after him in normal rotation.

The bring-in is normally assigned on the first betting round of a stud poker game to the player whose upcards indicate the poorest hand. For example, in traditional high hand stud games and high-low split games, the player showing the lowest card pays the bring-in. In low hand games, the player with the highest card showing pays the bring-in. The high card by suit order can be used to break ties if necessary.

In most fixed limit and some spread limit games, the bring-in amount is less than the normal betting minimum. The player forced to pay the bring-in may choose either to pay only what is required or to make a normal bet. Players acting after a sub-minimum bring-in have the right to call the bring-in as it is, even though it is less than the amount they would be required to bet, or they may raise the amount needed to bring the current bet up to the normal minimum, called completing the bet. For example, a game with a $5 fixed bet on the first round might have a bring-in of $2. Players acting after the bring-in can either call the $2, or raise to $5. After the bet is raised to $5, the next raise must be to $10 in accordance with the normal limits.

In a game where the bring-in is equal to the fixed bet (this is rare and not recommended), the game must either allow the bring-in player to optionally come in for a raise, or else the bring-in must be treated as live in the same way as a blind, so that the player is guaranteed his right to raise on the first betting round if he chooses.

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Limits

Betting limits apply to the amount a player may open or raise, and come in four common forms: no limit, pot limit (the two collectively called big bet poker), fixed limit, and spread limit.

All such games have a minimum bet as well as the stated maximums, and also commonly a betting unit, which is the smallest denomination in which bets can be made. For example, it is common for a games with $20 and $40 betting limits to have a minimum betting unit of $5, so that all bets must be in multiples of $5, to simplify game play. It is also common for some games to have a bring-in that is less than the minimum for other bets. In this case, players may either call the bring-in, or raise to the full amount of a normal bet, called completing the bet.

Outside of the United States, pot limit and no limit games are the most common. Most American home games are played with a spread limit, while casino games are played with spread or fixed limits, though larger casinos may have a high-stakes pot limit or no limit game as well. Fixed limit and spread limit games emphasise the skill of estimating odds, whereas pot limit and no limit games emphasize the skills of game theory and psychology. Almost all poker players believe that pot and no limit poker involve more skill than fixed limit play. A few prominent players, most notably Mason Malmuth, believe that the richer tactics make fixed limit more skilled. Although the main event at the World Series of Poker is played no limit, most high stakes cash games are fixed limit, so it is unclear which format is the experts' choice.

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Fixed limit

In a game played with a fixed limit betting structure, a player chooses only whether to bet or not - the amount is fixed by rule. To enable the possibility of bluffing, the fixed amount generally doubles at some point in the game. This double wager amount is referred to as a big bet.

Four bet maximum

Most fixed limit games are played with a four bet maximum. This means that in a given betting round, there can be no more than three raises, meaning that on the betting round, only four bets of the given limit have been made.

A common exception in this rule practiced in some card rooms is to allow unlimited raising when a pot is played heads up (when only two players remain). Usually, this has occurred because all other players have folded, and only two remain. Many card rooms will permit these two players to re-raise each other until one player is all in.

Some variations do exist for this exception. For example, some card rooms require that the pot became heads up before the third bet has entered the pot on that betting round. It is widely believed that this variation exists to prevent two colluding players from raising a third player out of the pot.

This exception to the four bet maximum has been observed in nearly all card rooms in the USA. It has never been observed in Internet card rooms.

In some card rooms, there is a five bet maximum instead of four.

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Kill game

Sometimes a fixed limit game is played as a kill game. Such a game is played with an additional blind, called the kill blind. The kill blind can be posted from any position at the table. The amount posted is typically twice the typical blind for that game. For example, in a $20/$40 game, the large blind is typically $20. If this game were played with a full kill, the kill blind would be $40.

When the kill blind is posted, it changes the stakes of the game. For that hand, the game is played as if the game were a higher limit. In a $20/$40 game with a full kill blind posted, the hand is played as if the limit were $40/$80. The kill is said to be active when the kill blind is posted and the game is played at the higher limit.

Rules on how the kill is activated vary. On the east coast of the USA, the kill is typically activated by the previous pot being over a particular value. The most typical value is ten times the value of the large bet (in a $20/$40 game, the kill would be active if the previous pot won was greater than $400). The winner of that pot is required to post the kill blind for the next hand.

In the Pacific Northwest of the USA, a kill is typically activated when a particular player wins two pots in a row. After that player wins her second pot, she is required to post a kill blind and the kill is active for the next hand.

Note that a kill need not always be a full kill. For example, it is common to find a game with a half kill. For example, when the kill is active in $4/$8 game with a half kill, the game is played at a $6/$12 limit.

The term kill, when used in this context, should not be confused with killing a hand, which is a term used for a hand that was made a dead hand by action of a game official.

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Spread limit

A game played with a spread limit betting structure allows a player to raise any amount within a specified range.

Pot limit

A game played with a pot limit betting structure allows any player to raise up to an amount equal to the size of the whole pot before the raise.

In pot-limit hold’em and pot-limit Omaha, many structures treat the little blind as if it were the same size of the big blind in computing pot size. In such a structure, a player can open for a maximum of four times the size of the big blind. For example, if the blinds are $5 and $10, a player may open with a raise to $40. (The range of options is to either open with a call of $10, or raise in increments of five dollars to any amount from $20 to $40.) Subsequent players also treat the $5 as if it were $10 in computing the pot size, until the big blind is through acting on the first betting round.

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No limit

A game played with a no limit betting structure allows each player to raise any amount of his stake at any time (subject to the table stakes rules and any other rules about raising).

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Table stakes rules

All casinos and many home games play poker by what are called table stakes rules, which state that each player starts each deal with a certain stake, and plays that deal with that stake. He may not remove money from the table or add money from his pocket during the play of a hand. Nor is a player allowed to hide the amount of his stake from other players; he must disclose the amount when asked. This requires some special rules to handle the case when a player is faced with a bet that he cannot call with his available stake.

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"All in"

When a player is faced with a current bet amount that he has insufficient remaining stake to call and he wishes to call (he may of course fold without the need of special rules), he bets the remainder of his stake and declares himself all in. He may now hold onto his cards for the remainder of the deal as if he had called every bet, but he may not win any more money from any player above the amount of his bet.

There is a strategic advantage to being all in: you cannot be bluffed, because you are entitled to hold your cards and see the showdown without risking any more money. The players who continue to bet after you are all in can still bluff each other out of the side pot, which is also to your advantage since they reduce your competition without risk to you. But these advantages are more than offset by the disadvantage that you cannot win any more money than what your stake can cover. After all, the object of poker is not to win hands—it is to win money.

If a player goes all in with a raise rather than a call, another special rule comes into play. There are two options in common use here: pot limit and no limit games always use what is called the full bet rule, while fixed limit or spread limit games use either the full bet rule or the half bet rule. The full bet rule states that if the amount of an all in raise does not equal the full amount of the previous raise, it does not constitute a "real" raise, and therefore does not reopen the betting action. The half bet rule states that if an all in raise is equal to or larger than half the bet being raised, it does constitute a raise and reopens the action.

When all players are all-in, or one player is playing only against opponents who are all-in, no more betting can take place. In a tournament, when this occurs, it is required that all players still playing flip up their hole cards even though the game may not be over yet. Likewise, any other cards that would normally be dealt face down, such as the final card in seven-card stud, are dealt face-up. These rules discourage collusion.

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Open stakes

The alternative to table stakes rules is called "open stakes", in which players are allowed to buy more chips during the hand and even to borrow money (often called "going light"). This may be appropriate for home or private games but is never allowed in casinos.

First, a player may go all-in in exactly the same manner as in table stakes if he so chooses, rather than adding to his stake or borrowing. Because it is a strategic advantage to go all-in with some hands while being able to add to your stake with others, such games should strictly enforce a minimum buy-in that is several times the maximum bet (or blinds, in the case of a no-limit or pot-limit game). A player who goes all-in and wins a pot that is less than the minimum buy-in may not then add to his stake or borrow money during any future hand until he rebuys an amount sufficient to bring his stake up to a full buy-in.

A player may instead choose to buy chips with cash out-of-pocket at any time, even during the play of a hand, and his bets are limited only by the specified betting structure of the game.

Finally, a player may also borrow money by betting with an IOU, called a "marker", payable to the winner of the pot. In order to bet with a marker, all players still active in the pot must agree to accept the marker. If any player refuses to accept a marker, the bettor may bet with cash out-of-pocket or go all-in. A player may also borrow money from a player not involved in the pot, giving him a personal marker in exchange for cash or chips, which the players in the pot are then compelled to accept. A player may borrow money in order to call a bet during a hand, and later in the same hand go all-in in the face of further betting; but if a player borrows money in order to raise, he forfeits the right to go all-in later in that same hand--if he is reraised, he must borrow money to call, or fold.

Just as in table stakes, no player may remove chips or cash from the table once they are put in play (except small amounts for refreshments, tips, and such)--this includes all markers, whether one's own or those won from other players.

Players should agree before play on the means and time limits of settling markers, and a convenient amount below which all markers must be accepted to simplify play.

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