Games may be classified and sub-classified according to many different criteria. Each scheme has its own advantages and disadvantages.
What sort of challenge / skill is involved (e.g. abstract calculation, anagramming, luck, bluffing, verbalizing, coordination, speed, etc.)?
This leads to the “Folk Model” theory of 4 categories: games of skill, games of chance, games of strategy, Simulation game propagated by Anderson/Moore and Brian Sutton-Smith. This scheme is probably most natural, and quite neatly separates billiards from chess from Tomb Raider. The main disadvantage is that too many games fall under more than one head. For example Scrabble relies a great deal on word knowledge and anagramming, but also has significant strategic aspects.
Games of skill can be further subdivided into physical-skill games and mental-skill games.
What equipment is used to play the game (e.g. a computer, a board, cards, tiles, dice, etc.)?
This categorization is also very natural and common, but sometimes problematic. For example, Balderdash is a commercial board game, whereas Fictionary is almost identical but uses no board.
This scheme seems odd since it forces similar games to be listed under completely different headings.
Other distinctions are less important, and apply more or less well to different major headings.
For example, the difference between team and individual sports is fundamental, whereas team board games are so rare as to hardly merit a category. The remaining distinctions apply mostly to non-physical games.
How many players does the game accommodate?
The most important division is between two-player and multiplayer games, because nearly all multiplayer games involve negotiation or coalition-building to some degree. Among multiplayer games it is also important (particularly to whoever is organizing the party) what range in the number of players can be accommodated. One disadvantage of this distinction is that a few games such as Titan are equally good two-player or multiplayer.
To what extent to which chance is a factor?
Games run the gamut from having no chance whatsoever (checkers, Pente) to being entirely determined by chance (roulette, Chutes and Ladders).
How deep is the strategy?
Some games (bridge, Go) can be studied for years without exhausting what there is to learn, whereas others (Three Men’s Morris) can be mastered relatively easily.
How easy is it to learn the rules of the game?
Chess and Go are often compared for their depth and abstraction, but chess has considerably more difficult rules. This consideration is particularly important for family games, where ideally children should be able to play along easily, without making the game so simple it holds no interest for adults.
Is the game relatively abstract or does it attempt to simulate some aspect of reality (e.g. stock market, war scenarios)?
For some simulation games, the realism is more important than all other factors, whereas some games (Set) are so abstract that the names and shapes of all the pieces could change without affecting playability. However, most games lie somewhere in between, with a balance between abstraction and simulation.
Are players eliminated as the game progresses, or can everyone play along until the end?
This is most important socially, as a host may wonder how to entertain guests who have been knocked out of the main event.
What is the objective of the game?
This is most useful as a sub-subheading, because different types of games tend to have different types of objectives. For example, card games have natural categories of trick-taking and shedding games, which don’t apply to board games, whereas board games have categories of capture, racing, and immobilization which don’t apply to card games.
To call a final bet while not expecting to win, for the primary purpose of discouraging future bluffs.
kicker
A card not directly involved in evaluating a hand, but that may be used for breaking ties.
A non-paired card kept before the draw in draw poker in hope of pairing it.
kill, kill pot
An occasional hand played at double the usual stakes at an agreed-upon time; often when a player wins two hands in a row, or when a player scoops in a split-pot game. The “lucky” player is often required to post an extra blind for double the usual blind amount. See also “half-kill”.
The custom of dealing one card face down to the side for each card dealt face up as community in community games. The cards dealt face down (not to any players) are out of play (have been killed) and ensure that the deck is not stacked.
kitty
A pool of money built by collecting small amounts from certain pots, often used to buy refreshments, cards, and so on. The home-game equivalent of a rake.
The World Poker Tour (WPT) is a collection of poker tournaments featuring most of the world’s professional players. It was started by attorney/television producer Stephen Lipscomb who now serves as CEO of WPT Enterprises (WPTE), the firm that controls the World Poker Tour.
The tour had its debut season in the latter part of 2002 and early part of 2003, climaxing with the WPT Championship in April 2003 at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first season aired on the Travel Channel on American cable television in the spring of 2003. The show made its network debut on February 1, 2004 on NBC with a special “Battle Of Champions” tournament, which aired against CBS coverage of the Super Bowl XXXVIII pre-game show.
The World Poker Tour is a collection of Texas hold ‘em poker tournaments held internationally and on board cruise ships, but mainly in the United States. The television show has led to a boom in the table game across American homes, local casinos and poker rooms, and online. It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that the key sponsors of the tour are casinos and online poker sites. The show, which is syndicated internationally, is co-hosted by World Series of Poker winner Mike Sexton, and actor Vince Van Patten. Former model Shana Hiatt served as the show host and sideline reporter in its first three seasons. Former newscaster Courtney Friel took over the host role for the fourth season in 2005-06.
First exemplified by the long-running World Series of Poker main event, a poker tournament gives each player an equal amount of chips to start, with colors representing different values. Play continues, typically over several days until one player has acquired all of the chips. When that occurs, that player has won the game and captures the grand prize, approximately 30-35% of the total prize pool. The resulting winner’s check can exceed one million dollars. All other competitors finish with no chips, but win a portion of the prize pool according to the order in which they left the tournament. The last player to lose all of his chip-stack finishes in 2nd position, typically worth approximately 20% of the prize pool.
The drawing power of the WPT, like any poker tournament, is that anyone who can pay the “buy-in” (an entry fee usually worth a few thousand dollars) or win a “satellite” tournament is able to compete against the top professional players, such as Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, or the top 2004 tournament money and multi-WPT tournament winner, Daniel Negreanu.
Fans of the show find it interesting due to technical innovations such as the ability to see the players’ hole cards through a small camera in front of them on the poker table (an innovation first seen on the UK programme Late Night Poker). Due to the success of the show, special programs, such as the “Hollywood Home Game”, featuring celebrities playing for charity, and “Ladies Night”, where six of the top women played against each other, were developed.
In 2004 the World Poker Tour created a Walk of Fame, inducting poker legends Doyle Brunson and Gus Hansen as well as actor James Garner.
Now in its fourth season of broadcast, it still remains among the highest rated television programs on cable. It airs Wednesdays on the Travel Channel. The first three seasons of WPT are also available on NTSC DVD. (The second season DVD set features audio commentary by several of the players. The third season is only available in a “Best Of” format, featuring just half of the episodes.)
A series of spin-off tournaments, titled the Professional Poker Tour, began filming in 2004. No episodes have as yet been broadcast, partly due to a dispute with the Travel Channel over rights. In the fall of 2005, WPTE announced that “a cable channel” (believed to be ESPN) had withdrawn from bidding for the PPT series, and that WPTE was negotiating with the Travel Channel to air the series.
In 2008, the WPT started offering bracelets to its event champions. Players who won a title prior to the release of the bracelet, were given one retroactively.
Player of the Year
Points are awarded for all Open events as follows:
Winner: 1000 points
Runner-up: 700 points
3rd place: 600 points
4th place: 500 points
5th place: 400 points
6th place: 300 points
7th place (TV bubble): 200 points
This award is given out to one player per season.
This award is given out to one player per season. The winners so far are:
Season 1: Howard Lederer
Season 2: Erick Lindgren
Season 3: Daniel Negreanu
Season 4: Gavin Smith
Season 5: J. C. Tran
Season 6: Jonathan Little
Season 7: Bertrand Grospellier
Below are the World Poker Tour events that have broken the record for the first prize.
Generally speaking, one should try to set the highest two-card hand that you can legally set (that is, the best two-card hand that still leaves a higher five-card hand behind). More specifically, one should expect and “average” hand to be something like a medium-to-high pair behind in the five-card hand and an ace-high in front. Detailed computer analysis has been done to determine ideal strategy, but this requires memorizing large tables. A close approximation can be done with only a few rules of thumb. If you are playing in a casino, you can always ask that your hand be set “house way” if you are in doubt; most house strategies are quite reasonable and can be quite close to optimal strategy.
If you have no pair, no straights, and no flushes, set the second- and third-highest cards in your two-card hand. For example, with K-Q-J-9-7-4-3, play Q-J and K-9-7-4-3. There are a few minor exceptions to this (for example, with A-Q-10-9-5-4-2 it is slightly better to play Q-9 and A-10-5-4-2), but these are rare and don’t affect your win rate much.
If you have nothing but a single pair, set it in your five-card hand and put the two highest remaining cards in your two-card hand. For example, with A-Q-Q-9-6-5-3, play A-9 and Q-Q-6-5-3. There are no exceptions to this rule. This rule and the rule above will cover 90% of the hands you play.
Two pair is the most common case where strategy isn’t obvious. You can either play the high pair behind and small pair in front, or else two pair behind and high cards in front. The smaller your high pair and higher your remaining cards, the more you should be inclined to play two pair behind. If your side cards are small, or your larger pair is large, split the pairs. You should always split pairs if your high pair is aces, and almost always split if your high pair is kings or queens; they are high enough by themselves. With something like J-J-4-4-A-Q-5 you can consider playing A-Q and J-J-4-4-5-, since A-Q in front is not much worse than 4-4, but two pair behind is much better than a single pair of jacks. Jacks and tens might be more inclined to split, because tens in front is much better than A-Q. With pairs as small as 7s and 8s, you might consider playing two pair behind if you can play a king-high or better in front. With 2s and 3s, you might even play as little as a queen-high in front. If you have no side cards higher than a jack, always split pairs, even 2s and 3s. (Most house ways split if there’s a pair of 6s or higher, and split small pairs if there’s no Ace for the low hand.)
Three pair is a very good hand. Always play the highest pair in front, no exceptions. For example, with K-K-7-7-4-4-A, play K-K and 7-7-4-4-A.
If you have three of a kind and nothing else, play three of a kind behind and remaining high cards in front, unless they are aces–always split three aces, playing a pair of aces behind and ace-high in front. Occasionally, you can even split three kings if your remaining side cards are not queen-high (for example, with K-K-K-J-9-7-6, it is slightly better to play K-J and K-K-9-7-6 than to play J-9 and K-K-K-7-6). Most house ways only split three Aces.
If you can play a straight or a flush or both, play whichever straight-or-better five-card hand makes the best two-card hand. For example, with K♠-9♠-8♣-7♠-6♣-5♠-4♠, playing the flush would put 8-6 in front, playing the 9-high straight would put K-4 up front, but the correct play is K-9 and 8-7-6-5-4. Occasionally, you will have a straight or flush with two pair; in that case, play as if it were two pair and ignore the straight or flush. This rule applies even if you can play a straight flush: if a straight or flush makes a better hand in front, play it that way.
With a full house, generally play trips behind and the pair in front. The exception is if the pair is very small and your side cards are very high, for example, with 5-5-5-3-3-A-Q, it might be better to play A-Q with the full house behind. These are rare, though, and you will never be making a big mistake if you never play a full house behind. House ways will always split the full house.
With two sets of trips, play the higher as a pair in front, and the smaller trips behind. For example, with Q-Q-Q-7-7-7-A, play Q-Q and 7-7-7-A-Q. No exceptions.
With four of a kind, play as if it were two pair, but be slightly less inclined to split. For example, with 10-10-10-10-J-5-4, play 10-10 and 10-10-J-5-4; with 3-3-3-3-K-Q-7, play K-Q and 3-3-3-3-7. Most house ways always split the four of a kind.
With three pair and a straight or flush (only possible with the joker), play as three pair (aces in front).
The cases below will probably never happen to you, but just in case:
With four of a kind and a pair, play the pair in front unless it is very small and the four of a kind is very large. For example, with 9-9-9-9-7-7-K, play 7-7 and 9-9-9-9-K, but with Q-Q-Q-Q-3-3-9, you might play Q-Q and Q-Q-3-3-9. House ways always put the quartet in back and the pair in front.
With a full house and a pair, play the higher pair in front and a full house in back.
With four of a kind and trips, split the four to play a pair in front and full house behind. House ways will tend to break the trips.
With all four aces and the joker, play a pair of aces in front and three aces (or a full house) behind UNLESS your back pair is a pair of kings; you get the honor of gloating on this one.
Here is an example that illustrates how the Fundamental Theorem is applied. (This example assumes a familiarity with the basic rules and terminology of holdem.) Suppose you are playing limit holdem and are dealt 9♣ 9♠ under the gun before the flop. You call, and everyone folds to the big blind who checks. The flop comes A♣ K♦ 10♦, and the big blind bets.
You now have a decision to make based upon incomplete information. In this particular circumstance, the correct decision is almost certainly to fold. There are too many turn and river cards that could kill your hand. Even if the big blind does not have an A or a K, there are 3 cards to a straight and 2 cards to a flush on the flop, and she could easily be on a straight or flush draw. You are essentially drawing to 2 outs (another 9), and even if you catch one of these outs, your set may not hold up.
However, suppose you knew (with 100% certainty) the big blind held 8♦ 7♦. In this case, it would be correct to raise. Even though the big blind would still be getting the correct pot odds to call, the best decision is to raise. (Calling would be giving the big blind infinite pot odds, and this decision makes less money in the long run than raising.) Therefore, by folding (or even calling), you have played your hand differently from the way you would have played it if you could see your opponent’s cards, and so by the Fundamental Theorem of Poker, she has gained. You have made a “mistake”, in the sense that you have played differently from the way you would have played if you knew the big blind held 8♦ 7♦, even though this “mistake” is almost certainly the best decision given the incomplete information available to you.
This example also illustrates that one of the most important goals in poker is to induce your opponents to make mistakes. In this particular hand, the big blind has practiced deception by employing a semi-bluff — she has bet a hand, hoping you will fold, but she still has outs even if you call or raise. She has induced you to make a mistake.
