The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (177 page)

combination of five cards, rather than the three or fourof such

ancestors as Brag and Pimero. Five also happens to characterize an

old Persian game cal ed As Nas, which could have reached America

old Persian game cal ed As Nas, which could have reached America

via French set lers who had been in the Persian service, or Persian

sailors cal ing at the port of New Orleans; but to make Poker the

direct descendant of As Nas, as some have tried to do, amounts at

best to an exaggeration of this particular historical strand.

Poker is practised in three distinct contexts: private play in home

and workplace, public play in clubs and casinos, and tournament

play wherever it may be held. The fol owing account concentrates

on home play, with each player dealing in turn. In public contexts,

there is usual y a so-cal ed centre dealer, who does al the dealing

and takes no part in play.

Dealer’s Choice

Poker by its nature invites and receives constant variation in

everyday play. Many variations are ad hoc and go unrecorded;

others become popular over various periods of time and often

acquire dif erent names. Here it must suf ice to describe the most

basic forms, together with the broad lines along which variations

occur.

The original game was Straight or ‘Cold’ Poker, in which five

cards were dealt to each player; one period of bet ing ensued, and

the winner of that took the pot. From this developed Draw Poker,

in which, after the first bet ing interval is over, each player can seek

to improve his hand by rejecting some of his cards and ‘drawing’

(= being dealt) replacements, a process fol owed by a second

bet ing interval before the winner is determined. Draw is stil

regarded as the basic game for home play and is recommended for

beginners, but serious players are now devoted to various forms of

the next development, Stud Poker. In these, each player receives

five or even more cards, from which he selects any five as his

eventual playing hand. Some of these are dealt face down (= hole

cards) for his eyes only, others face up (= upcards) for al to see.

There is no draw, but bet ing intervals fol ow the deal of successive

cards, giving more opportunity for bet ing and for the application

of skil .

of skil .

Both Draw and Stud may be combined with a major variant

cal ed Lowbal , in which the pot is won by the lowest hand, or,

more popularly, High-Low Poker, in which it is shared between the

highest and the lowest hand. These and other variants fol ow the

main descriptions of Draw and Stud.

The usual reason quoted for varying the basic game is a desire to

speed up the action by increasing the relative frequency of ‘good’

hands, which otherwise rarely occur. This is only half the story.

Each variant also introduces its own schedule of mathematical

probabilities. These can hardly be learned by rote, but the skil ed

player, experienced in several forms of the game, starts out at a

considerable advantage over the player whose knowledge stops

short at orthodox Draw Poker. It is for this reason that the most

popular form of the game is Dealer’s Choice, in which each dealer

announces exactly what game is to be played for his own deal, or

for the round of deals initiated by himself. He is even at liberty to

invent new variations and to name them as he pleases. In this way

the mathematical variety of the game is given ful play almost from

deal to deal.

Al forms of Poker are based on two principles: a universal y

recognized hierarchy of five-card combinations cal ed Poker hands,

and a universal method of staking and bet ing (‘vying’).

Poker hands

In al forms of Poker, players are either bet ing that they already

hold the best hand, or, if more cards have yet to be dealt, that their

present cards are so promising that they wil finish up with the best

hand. A Poker hand, by definition, is five cards. More may be dealt

or held, but only five count in a showdown. These five may be

total y unmatched, or may form one of the fol owing combinations.

(Other combinations are recognized in some games.) The relative

rating of each type of hand is determined by the odds against being

dealt it on five cards from a thoroughly shuf led pack. Figures

above 100 are rounded to the nearest 50.

above 100 are rounded to the nearest 50.

High card (1-1). No combination. The bet er of two such hands is

the one with the higher top card, or second higher, if tied, etc.

Cards rank (high-low) AKQJT98765432.

One pair (11/2-1). Two of the same rank, the rest unmatched.

The bet er of two such hands is the one with the higher-ranking

pair, or the highest non-tying top card if both pairs tie.

Two pairs (20-1). Self-explanatory. The bet er of two such hands

is the one with the higher-ranking pair; if equal, that with the

higher-ranking second pair; if stil equal, that with the higher odd

card.

Threes (triplets, trips) (46-1). Three of a kind, two unmatched.

Straight (250-1). Five cards in numerical sequence, not al in one

suit. Ace counts high or low but not both (A2345 or TJQKA, not

QKA23). The bet er of two such hands is the one with the higher-

ranking cards.

Flush (500-1). Five cards of the same suit, but not al in sequence.

The best of two or more flushes is the one with the highest non-

tying top card.

Ful house (700-1). A triplet and a pair. The bet er of two such

hands is the one with the higher-ranking triplet.

Fours (4150-1). Four cards of the same rank, the fifth irrelevant.

Straight flush (65,000-1). Five cards in suit and sequence, Ace

counting high or low but not both. An Ace-high straight flush,

known as a royal flush, is unbeatable, but can be tied, as no suit is

bet er than another in orthodox Poker.

Bet ing procedure

Play does not take place with cards but with money, or with chips

representing money, which are bought from a non-participating

banker before play. Chips are commonly of three dif erent colours,

with whites counting as the basic monetary unit, reds as two, blues

as five. Other possible scales begin 1,5, 10; 1, 5, 20 etc., and there

may be more or fewer colours.

may be more or fewer colours.

To bet, a player moves one or more of the chips from the stack in

front of him towards the centre of the table, where they become

part of the pool or pot being played for. Chips once staked cannot

be retrieved, except by winning the pot. It helps to keep individual

players’ stakes separate from one another rather than mingle them

al in the pool, but few bother to do so.

In al forms of Poker, someone makes the first or opening bet.

Rules vary as to (a) who has the first chance to open, (b) whether

the opener must hold at least a specified combination in order to

open, and (c) the least and greatest amount that may be made as an

opening bet.

In home games, players who are not qualified to open the pot, or

do not wish to, may check (pass) until somebody does. Public play

does not usual y al ow this, and may require one or more blind bets

to get the pot going.

If no one opens the pot, the hands are thrown in and there is a

new deal.

Once the pot is open, each in turn to the left of the opener must

either cal , raise, or fold.

To cal is to increase your stake so that it matches that of the

previous active player.

To raise is to match the previous player’s stake and increase it.

To fold is to place your cards face down on the table, lose what

you have staked so far, and relinquish al claim on the pot.

This continues until

either: Nobody cal s the last raise and everyone folds. The last

raiser thereby wins the pot without having to show his hand.

or: The player who last raised has been cal ed by the other

players stil left in the pot. Al bets now being equal, the last

raiser may not raise again, and the bet ing interval is at an

end. Depending on the form of Poker being played, this is

fol owed by the next phase of play or by a final showdown.

In a showdown, those stil playing reveal their hands, and the

In a showdown, those stil playing reveal their hands, and the

player with the best hand wins the pot. Here, in any form of Poker,

there is a rule that ‘the cards speak for themselves’. In other words,

a hand is what its cards actual y are, not what their owner may

mistakenly declare them to be.

Draw Poker

2-8 players (5 best), 52 cards

Draw, the oldest form of Poker, is now regarded as antediluvian by

al right-thinking Americans, and wil be encountered (if at al ) only

as a home game. Elsewhere, it remains the most basic form for

learners and occasional players, standing in relation to ‘real’ Poker

as Whist does to Bridge.

Preliminaries Lower and upper limits should be set on the amount

of any opening bet or raise. A logical lower limit is one white. The

upper limit may be a fixed amount (e.g. five), or it may be set at

the whole or half the amount currently in the pot.

Players deal in turn. Before the deal each player antes one chip.

Shuf le thoroughly and deal five cards each, one at a time.

First interval Each in turn, starting from the dealer’s left, may open,

pass, or fold, until someone opens. If al pass, the hands are thrown

in and the pot is carried forward to the next deal. With the pot

open, each in turn may cal , raise, or fold. Play continues until the

last raise has been fol owed only by cal ing or folding. If everyone

folds fol owing a raise or an opening bet, the last raiser wins the

pot. He need not reveal his cards (except, if necessary, to prove he

was entitled to open). Otherwise, al the chips staked so far are

was entitled to open). Otherwise, al the chips staked so far are

pushed into the middle of the table and there is a draw. Some

schools limit the number of raises – to three, for example, or to the

number of players – that may be made in this bet ing interval.

The draw Each in turn, starting from the dealer’s left, may either

stand pat or cal for cards. In the lat er case, he discards from one to

three cards face down, announcing clearly how many he is

discarding, and is promptly dealt by way of replacement the same

number of cards from the top of the pack. Dealer himself is the last

to draw, and must himself state clearly how many he is discarding.

Second interval Whoever opened the pot on the first round speaks

first in the second. (Variant: In home play, first to speak is often the

player who raised last in the first round.) Each in turn may check or

bet until someone bets. If al check, the original opener must open

again. Each in turn thereafter may cal , raise, or fold. This continues

until the last raise has been fol owed by cal s for a showdown, in

which case the player with the best hand wins the pot, or until al

but one have folded, in which case the last in wins without showing

his hand.

End of game It’s advisable to agree a time limit and to finish at the

end of the hand being played when that limit is reached.

Out of chips Anyone who runs out of chips in the middle of a pot

must fold. In private games, they may be al owed to buy themselves

back for the next hand.

Optional extras and variants

Jackpots In the first round, the opener must have at least a pair of

Jacks or bet er (a higher pair or a higher combination). If no one

opens, the hands are thrown in. If someone opens and subsequently

discards one of his qualifying pair, he must, when the pot is won,

discards one of his qualifying pair, he must, when the pot is won,

prove from his hand and discard that he was entitled to open.

When five play, at least one player can be expected to hold Jacks

or bet er.

Hi-Lo Draw The pot is split evenly between the holders of the

highest and the lowest hands. A hand lacking any combination is

obviously lower than one containing a pair or bet er. As between

two low hands, decide which is the higher on a high-card basis, and

the other one is automatical y lower. The lowest possible hand is a