A simple faux pas is to not act in accordance with the cardroom’s rules. For example, to raise, one typically places all the chips, those to call (if any) and the raise in one motion; you cannot do two hand gestures (this is called a string raise), unless you state your intentions prior to placing chips.
Cards are to be face-down to other players until showdown. If you fold, you hand in your cards face-down. If you are in the hand until showdown, you turn up your cards if either you are first to show (last person to raise shows first) or if your hand is superior to the hands previously exposed. Do not expose cards prior to showdown; depending on local rules, this may mean a comittment to check all raises or you may forfeit the hand.
If you are requested to cease an activity by a dealer or any other representative of the cardroom, cease that activity.
Damaging cards is both fairly difficult (because most places use cellulose-acetate cards which are hard to mark, scratch, and bend, and last approximately five years in daily play) and forbidden.
Don’t blame the dealer for a string of bad hands. Don’t ask the dealer to “switch decks”. This may annoy the other players and it will slow down gameplay.
Speak only English in an American cardroom. If they can’t understand you, they may assume you are in collusion with someone.
Turn off your cell phone, or set it to vibrate mode. Do not pick it up during game play. If you pick it up, there’s the possibility you are receiving information that may provide a clue to the other players’ hands, and are therefore cheating.
Keep your food and drinks off the table. The table is for playing cards and poker chips, not soda pop and potato chips. You have small stands around the tables to hold beverages and food. Food at the table, though, is not recommended if it leaves a residue on your hands. Sandwiches OK, BBQ ribs and fried chicken, no.
Cheating is right out. Having said that, do not accuse other players of being cheaters. If you are wrong (most likely), you will make an unnecessary scene and end up tossed from the room. If you’re right, the cameras above you will catch the guy in the act for you.
You cannot buy more chips while a round is in progress.
Failing to call out, “all-in” when you are is a minor issue.
All your chips must remain on the table during play. You may not remove chips from the table to your pockets, or vice versa.
Remember when you must pay forced bets, such as blinds in Texas Hold ‘em and Omaha Hold ‘em.
Keep the game play flowing. By the time the bet comes round to you, you should know what your course of action is. Calling for “time” when you have a difficult decision to make is acceptable as long as you don’t take excessively long or do this very often.
Remember, the cards speak for themselves. When the hand is over, don’t overstate your hand in an effort to cause an opponent to throw away a better hand. Also, don’t throw away your own hand until your opponent shows a better hand; he might not have read this etiquette page, and could be lying about having a straight flush. The dealer is the adjudicator of each round.
Knocking the table is a check, tossing your cards is a fold. Saying “Check” or knocking the table is the same thing. Placing your chips down without a spoken amount commits you to the full value of the laid chips or the table maximum, whichever applies. Calling a raise means following through.
The most important thing: NEVER EVER PLAY WITH MONEY YOU CAN’T AFFORD TO LOSE.
In the card game Poker the buck or button is a marker used to indicate the player who is the dealer or, in casino games with a house dealer, the player who acts last on that deal (who would be the dealer in a home game).
When Poker became a popular saloon game in the United States in the middle of the nineteenth century the integrity of the players was unreliable and the honor codes that had regulated gambling for centuries became inadequate. Because the dealer has the greatest opportunity to cheat (by manipulating the specific cards that players receive and by seeing the faces of the dealt cards) the players took turns in this role. To avoid arguments about whose turn it was to deal, the person who was next due to deal would be given a marker. A knife was a common object used as such a marker, and the marker became generally known as a buck as an abbreviated reference to the buck’s horn that formed the handle of many knives at that time.
When the dealer had finished dealing the cards he ‘passes the buck’. According to Martin, the earliest use of the phrase in print is in the July 1865 edition of Weekly New Mexican: “They draw at the commissary, and at poker after they have passed the buck.”. The phrase then appears frequently in many sources so it probably originated at about this time.
The use of other small disks as such markers led to the alternative term “button”. Silver dollars were later used as markers and it has been suggested that this is the origin of “buck” as a slang term for “dollar,” though by no means is there universal agreement on this subject.
US president Harry S. Truman’s use of the slogan “the buck stops here” in speeches, and on a sign on his desk, derives from the adoption of the phrase “passing the buck” as a metaphor for avoiding responsibility.
A cheat with moderate skill always has the option to hand-muck, that is, switch their hand with one they have secretly hidden on them somewhere. This may also be done with a confederate. Mechanical devices have been invented for the purpose of switching hands. Though such machines are outdated, the modern equivalents (clips that hold cards on the underside of the table) should not be overlooked. The “hands above the table” house rule is recommended to prevent this. If it is done above the table, then anyone at the table can see it. This type of cheat runs the risk that he plays the same card as someone else at the table; at which time there must be a cheat at the table. Most people, not wanting to point fingers, will just end the game for the evening.
Skilled methods
Never doubt that a skilled cheat may deal a card from any place in the deck. A skilled cheat can deal the second card, the bottom card, the second from bottom card, and the middle card. The idea is to “cull“, or to find the cards one needs, place them at the bottom, top, or any other place the cheat wants, then false deal them to himself or his confederate. Suppose the cheat is next to deal. In the previous showdown, there are four sevens in different hands. The cheat pick up the cards so that all four sevens end up on the bottom of the deck. He then false shuffles the deck and deals himself the four sevens off the bottom of the deck.
There are many tells as to this kind of cheating:
Beware of anyone gripping the deck with the index finger in front of it. This is referred to as the mechanics grip. It not only allows better control of the cards, but provides cover as, showing the back of the top card, and without moving the hand holding the deck.
Beware any shuffle instantly followed by a cut. This is a well known way to undo a shuffle. The idea is that, as the halves of the deck are taken apart, the bottom half is shuffled so its top card is on top. Cutting the cards, and in doing so, unweaving the interlaced cards, places the bottom half right where it started. Completing the cut places the deck in its original order.
Dealing mechanics
Despite all this high power sleight of hand, the cheat still won’t win money with four sevens if everyone else has a bust, so the cheat stacks two hands. Obviously the cheat will get the better one. Let’s say he has two hands one on the bottom of each half of the deck, ready to shuffle (let’s say four kings and four aces). All the cheat has to do is to shuffle the two halves PERFECTLY, that is, alternating from one half to the other. When done with the whole deck this is called a faro shuffle. This places in alternating order on the bottom of the deck the cards K,A,K,A,K,A,K,A. He can then false shuffle to his heart’s content without disturbing those eight bottom cards, and begin dealing. When he gets to his mark, he deals that player the bottom card. He deals himself bottoms too. This places the big fish with four kings, a real betting hand, and the cheat with four aces, hence the cheat cleans up. This is called the double duke.
The best way to foil mechanics of this nature is to burn them, to watch their hands at all times and to always insist on a cut. This may not prevent them from cheating, but it forces them to undo the cut – a difficult and dangerous move. Only world class cheats will undo a cut while being burned. Note: no other shuffling or cutting is allowed after EVERY player is offered the option of cutting. A cheat may bend the entire deck so as to reveal where the cut was, so that his confederate sitting to his left may undo the cut or he may do so himself should the appropriate distraction present itself.
Switching decks
This pales in comparison to the granddaddy of all cheating – the “cold deck“. After all the shuffling and cutting has been done (everyone nicely pacified) the cheat can switch the deck for one he has stacked beforehand so that everyone has a real betting hand, but, of course, the cheat has the best one. Other versions of the “cold deck switch” utilize the cutting sequence to perform the “work.” Any deck switch is difficult, and may require distraction, but once done, no other sleights are necessary to win. The only defense is to simply always watch the deck. Many players believe that it is bad luck to look at your cards before the dealer is finished as you might miss your opponents’ reactions to their cards, and might miss burning the dealer.
In poker, the starting hand is the initial set of cards dealt to each player before any voluntary betting takes place. For example, in Seven-card stud this is two downcards and one upcard; in Texas hold’em it is two downcards; in Five-card draw it is five cards.
The one decision made by every poker player on every deal of every game is whether to continue playing that hand after seeing that first set of cards. Since making this decision correctly will lead to the most long-run profit for a skilled player, players often put considerable study into what the appropriate starting hand “standards” are for the game being played.
Optimal starting hand standards can be very sensitive to factors such as the betting structure of a game, position, and the character of the other players, as well as the rules of the game being played.
The following is a list of standard equipment needed for a game of poker:
Cards: Standard Anglo-American playing cards are used. In home games it is common to have two decks with distinct backs, and to shuffle the unused deck while each hand is in progress. Casinos typically change decks after 15 minutes of use, because the quality of the cards declines with each shuffling. For friendly home environments, this is not an issue, but some dealers can perform intentionally corrupt shuffles even with a lightly-worn deck. Poker players are advised to have at least one “back-up” deck on hand to replace decks with worn, soiled, or bent cards. High-quality plastic-coated cards can be purchased for approximately $3.00, and last much longer than paper cards.
In some poker games, particularly stud poker it is not unusual for cards to become bent quickly, as players often read their “hole” cards by peeking at the corner rather than lifting the card. Card quality can be preserved for longer if players agree not to bend cards, and proper shuffling techniques are used.
Rarely, multiple decks are used in poker; however, this noticeably alters the game. Using additional decks will make certain hand configurations significantly more common than they are in single-deck poker.
Poker Chips: Currency is difficult to stack or handle, so most poker games are played with chips, or coin-shaped tokens of uniform size and weight, usually 39mm wide and anywhere from 5 to 16 grams in weight, whose money value is determined by their color. Traditionally, poker chips were made of bone; however, modern casino chips are often made of clay. Clay chips (which can cost as much $1.70 per chip, or $850 for a set of 500) are considered the most upscale variety of poker chip. Another high-end variety of chips are ceramic chips, ceramic chips that can be customized easily cost around $1 per chip. Plastic chips are also available, at a wide variety of quality levels.
The standard color scheme for poker chips is as follows: $1 chips are white; $5, red; $10, blue; $25, green; $100, black; $500, purple; $1000, orange; $5000, gray; $10000, pink. There is no requirement that casinos use these colors, and there is much variance regarding the colors used for denominations above $100.
Poker Table: A typical poker game will have between two and ten players. For the sake of convenience, each player should be able to reach the central pot, so circular or oblong tables are best. A soft table top is preferred to facilitate picking up chips and cards.
Lammers: Lammers are plastic, chip-shaped tokens with text written on them. Most commonly used is a “dealer button” with either the word “DEALER” or a “D” written on it; this item (also known as the buck) indicates who shall deal next. In a casino setting, lammers are also used to indicate which variant is being used, and whose turn it is to pay the blind.
Cut card: This is a thick plastic card, the same size and shape of a playing card. The dealer will place the deck upon this card before dealing, in order to prevent the accidental exposure of the bottom card of the deck. While rarely used in home games, the cut card is universal in casino play.
Timer: If playing a poker tournament, a timer is used to count down periods in which the blinds are at certain levels. When the timer reaches 0:00, the blinds go up, and if chips are no longer useful (say, the blinds have gone up to $25 and $50, so $5 chips aren’t needed any more), the unneeded chips are converted to higher valued ones.
Card protectors:: In games where all of a player’s cards are facedown, some players use items like specialty chips or glass figures to place on top of their cards to protect them from being accidentally discarded.
Purchasing poker equipment
For most home games, high-quality plastic poker chips, still cheaper than clay chips, will suffice, though casinos generally prefer clay, considered the most authentic type of chip. Tables should have a soft surface; hard-surfaced “poker tables” are generally no more convenient than a standard dining table with a poker cloth. Card decks of reasonable quality can be purchased for about $3 a piece, and it’s best to have at least three of them on hand.
A unit of play consisting of a deal, one or more rounds of betting, and possibly a showdown.
A set of five cards with a certain value. For example, the hand A♥ 10♥ 9♥ 5♥ 3♥ is a “flush”, a hand that is valuable because each card is of the same suit.
A player’s set of non-communal cards.
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.
Individual cards are ranked A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (low).
Individual card ranks are often used to evaluate hands that contain no pairs or other special combinations, or to rank the kickers of otherwise equal hands. The Ace is ranked low in ace-to-five and ace-to-six lowball games.
Suits have no value.
The suits of the cards are mainly used in determining whether a hand fits a certain category (specifically the Flush and Straight flush hands). In most variants, if two players have hands that are identical except for suit, then they are tied and split the pot. Sometimes a ranking called high card by suit is used for randomly selecting a player to deal.
A hand always consists of five cards.
In games where more than five cards are available to each player, hands are ranked by choosing some five-card subset according to the rules of the game, and comparing that five-card hand against the five-card hands of the other players. Whatever cards remain after choosing the five to be played are of no consequence in determining the winner. (For example, when comparing identical full houses, there are no “kickers”.)
Hands are ranked first by category, then by individual card ranks.
That is, even the minimum qualifying hand in a certain category defeats all hands in all lower categories. The smallest Two pair hand, for example, defeats all hands with just One pair or No pair. Only between two hands in the same category are card ranks used to break ties. The highest single card in each flush or straight is used to break ties (the Ace-through-five straight is the lowest straight, the Ace being a low card in this context). Within two Two pair hands, the higher pairs are first compared. If they tie, then the secondary pairs are compared, and then finally the kicker.
The order in which cards are dealt is unimportant.
For ease of explanation, hands are shown here neatly arranged, but a poker hand has the same value no matter what order the cards are received in.
Ranking of hands
The most common ranking of hands is as follows:
Royal flush: Five cards in sequence and of the same suit, starting from the Ace down to the 10. Example:A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ (Note: A Royal Flush is not a category of hand in and of itself, it is simply the highest-valued straight flush, and thus also the highest-valued hand. Since it is mentioned often in the context of hand rankings, it is worth noting in this list.)
Straight flush: Any five cards in sequence and of the same suit. Example:Q♦ J♦ 10♦ 9♦ 8♦
Four of a kind: A hand with four cards of the same rank. Example:4♣ 4♦ 4♥ 4♠ 9♥
Full house: A hand with three cards of one rank and two of another. Example:8♣ 8♦ 8♠ K♥ K♠
Flush: Five cards of the same suit. Example:K♠ J♠ 8♠ 4♠ 3♠
Straight: Five cards in sequence. (The ace can be considered higher than the king, or lower than the two.) Example:5♦ 4♥ 3♠ 2♦ A♦
Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank. Example:7♣ 7♥ 7♠ K♦ 2♠
Two pair: Two cards of one rank, two of another. Example:A♣ A♦ 8♥ 8♠ Q♠
One pair: Two cards of the same rank. Example:9♥ 9♠ A♣ J♠ 4♥
No pair: Also known as a high card hand. The following example is considered “Ace high.” Example:A♦ 10♦ 9♠ 5♣ 4♣
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.
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.
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. Poker can also refer to video poker which is a single-player game seen in casinos much like a slot machine.
In order to play, one must learn the basic rules and procedures of the game, the values of the various combinations of cards , and the rules about betting limits. Some knowledge of the equipment used to play is useful. 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.
A game of Texas hold ‘em in progress. “Hold ‘em” is currently the most popular form of poker.
References
Brunson, Doyle (1979). Doyle Brunson’s Super System, Cardoza. ISBN 1580420818.
Sklansky, David (1989). The Theory of Poker (3rd Ed), Two Plus Two Publications. ISBN 1880685000.
Vorhaus, John (2002). Killer Poker, Lyle Stuart. ISBN 0818406305.
Ernest, James; Selinker, Mike; Foglio, Phil (2005). Dealer’s Choice: The Complete Handbook of Saturday Night Poker, Overlook Press. ISBN 1585676543.
Caro, Mike (1978). Caro’s Book of Poker Tells, Cardoza. ISBN 1580420826.
The standard poker hands in descending order.
A game of Texas hold ‘em in progress. “Hold ‘em” is currently the most popular form of poker.