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Online poker FAQ
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poker games onlineTable of Contents P1What are the basic rules of poker? What are the hand rankings? P2 What are some fun home poker games? P3 How is Texas Hold"em played? P4 How is Omaha Hold"em played? P5 What should I expect the first time I play poker in a casino or card room? What etiquette should I follow? P6 What are some good books about poker? P7 What are some good magazines about poker? P8 What computer poker programs are best for my PC or Mac? P9 What is IRC poker and how can I play? P10 What skills are important for Texas Hold"em? P11 What is a good preflop strategy for Texas Hold"em? P12 What is a good third street strategy for Seven Card Stud? P13 Why are poker hands ranked the way they are? P14 Why are ace-hi flushes ranked highest, when it"s much harder to get a seven-hi flush? And similarly for two pairs? P15 What is the correct ranking for 3-card poker hands? P16 What are my chances of sucking out on my opponent in Hold"em? P17 What does pot-limit mean? What is half-pot-limit? P18 What is a kill pot? What is a game with a kill? What is a half kill? What is a straddle bet? P19 What is a poker tournament? How does one work? What is a chip race? What is a satellite? P20 How does tournament strategy differ from that of regular games? P21 What is the World Series of Poker? What is the Tournament of Champions? P22 What the hell is Rumple Mintz? P23 What is a burn card and why is it dealt? P24 What happens if there aren"t enough cards in the deck to deal the final card in 7-card stud? P25 What is the difference between a shill and a proposition player? What skills are needed to be one? P26 What cards are in the Dead Man"s Hand? P27 What are the Las Vegas poker room phone numbers? P28 What poker games are spread in certain Las Vegas casinos? P29 What do all these poker terms mean? P30 When can I meet and play poker with fellow r.g.pers? What are BARGE, FARGO, etc? P31 Where can I play online poker against real people for real money? Is it legal? Is it safe? P32 How do you play no-limit seven-card stud? What is Mississippi Stud? P33 Can one overcome the rake at low limit poker games? Q:P1 What are the basic rules of poker? What are the hand rankings? A:P1 [Michael Maurer] Most variants of poker satisfy the following definition, but in a home game of course you are free to modify the rules as you see fit. Poker is a card game in which players bet into a communal pot during the course of a hand, and in which the player holding the best hand at the end of the betting wins the pot. During a given betting round, each remaining player in turn may take one of four actions: 1. check, a bet of zero that does not forfeit interest in the pot 2. bet or raise, a nonzero bet greater than preceding bets that all successive players must match or exceed or else forfeit all interest in the pot 3. call, a nonzero bet equal to a preceding bet that maintains a player"s interest in the pot 4. fold, a surrender of interest in the pot in response to another players"s bet, accompanied by the loss of one"s cards and previous bets Betting usually proceeds in a circle until each player has either called all bets or folded. Different poker games have various numbers of betting rounds interspersed with the receipt or replacement of cards. Poker is usually played with a standard 4-suit 52-card deck, but a joker or other wild cards may be added. The ace normally plays high, but can sometimes play low, as explained below. At the showdown, those players still remaining compare their hands according to the following rankings: 1. Straight flush, five cards of the same suit in sequence, such as 76543 of hearts. Ranked by the top card, so that AKQJT is the best straight flush, also called a royal flush. The ace can play low to make 5432A, the lowest straight flush. 2. Four of a kind, four cards of the same rank accompanied by a "kicker", like 44442. Ranked by the quads, so that 44442 beats 3333K. 3. Full house, three cards of one rank accompanied by two of another, such as 777JJ. Ranked by the trips, so that 44422 beats 333AA. 4. Flush, five cards of the same suit, such as AJ942 of hearts. Ranked by the top card, and then by the next card, so that AJ942 beats AJ876. Suits are not used to break ties. 5. Straight, five cards in sequence, such as 76543. The ace plays either high or low, making AKQJT and 5432A. "Around the corner" straights like 32AKQ are usually not allowed. 6. Three of a kind, three cards of the same rank and two kickers of different ranks, such as KKK84. Ranked by the trips, so that KKK84 beats QQQAK, but QQQAK beats QQQA7. 7. Two pair, two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank and a kicker of a third rank, such as KK449. Ranked by the top pair, then the bottom pair and finally the kicker, so that KK449 beats any of QQJJA, KK22Q, and KK445. 8. One pair, two cards of one rank accompanied by three kickers of different ranks, such as AAK53. Ranked by the pair, followed by each kicker in turn, so that AAK53 beats AAK52. 9. High card, any hand that does not qualify as one of the better hands above, such as KJ542 of mixed suits. Ranked by the top card, then the second card and so on, as for flushes. Suits are not used to break ties. Suits are not used to break ties, nor are cards beyond the fifth; only the best five cards in each hand are used in the comparison. In the case of a tie, the pot is split equally among the winning hands. Several variations are possible when playing for low. Some games permit the ace to play low and ignore straights and flushes, making 5432A the best possible low, even if it makes a straight flush. Other games just reverse the order used for high hands, making 75432 of mixed suits the best possible low. Still others count straights and flushes against you but let the ace play low, making 6432A best. Note that in most games in which the ace plays low, a pair of aces is lower than a pair of deuces, just as an ace is lower than a deuce. When a joker is in play, it usually can only be used as an ace or to complete a straight or flush. It cannot be used as a true wild card, for example, as a queen to make QQ43X play as three queens. When playing for low, the joker becomes the lowest rank not already held, so 864AX is played as 8642A, with the joker used as a deuce. Although true wild cards are rarely seen in a casino, they are a popular way to add excitement to a home game. Wild cards introduce an additional hand, five of a kind, which normally ranks above a straight flush. They can also cause confusion when two players hold the same hand composed of different wild card combinations. The standard rules of poker do not distinguish between such hands, but some players prefer to rank hands using fewer wild cards above less "natural" versions of the same hand. Q:P2 What are some fun home poker games? A:P2 [Michael Maurer] Poker variants differ in the amount of skill they admit. Some, like 7-card stud high/low with declare (no qualifier), provide skilled players many opportunities to gain an edge. Others are a virtual crap shoot. In general, the crazier games are designed to discourage folding and minimize the influence of skill on the outcome. They accomplish this through a betting structure that requires a large investment before the value of one"s hand is known. The level playing field that results is ideal for many informal social groups. Q:P3 How is Texas Hold"em played? A:P3 [Michael Maurer] Texas Hold"em is a "community card" game, meaning that some cards are dealt face-up in the middle of the table and shared by all the players. Each player has two down cards that are theirs alone, and combines them with the five community cards to make the best possible five-card hand. Play begins by dealing two cards face down to each player; these are known as "hole cards" or "pocket cards". This is followed by a round of betting. Most hold"em games get the betting started with one or two "blind bets" to the left of the dealer. These are forced bets which must be made before seeing one"s cards. Play proceeds clockwise from the blinds, with each player free to fold, call the blind bet, or raise. Usually the blinds are "live", meaning that they may raise themselves when the action gets back around to them. Now three cards are dealt face up in the middle of the table; this is called the "flop". A round of betting ensues, with action starting on the first blind, immediately to the dealers left. Another card is dealt face up (the "turn"), followed by another round of betting, again beginning to the dealer"s left. Then the final card (the "river") is dealt followed by the final round of betting. In a structured-limit game, the bets on the turn and river are usually double the size of those before and on the flop. The game is usually played for high only, and each player makes the best five-card combination to compete for the pot. Players usually use both their hole cards to make their best hand, but this is not required. A player may even choose to "play the board" and use no hole cards at all. Identical five-card hands split the pot; the sixth and seventh cards are not used to break ties. Q:P4 How is Omaha Hold"em played? A:P4 [Michael Maurer] The rules of Omaha are very similar to those of Texas Hold"em. There are only two differences: * Each player receives four hole cards, instead of two. * One must use *exactly* three community cards and two hole cards to make one"s hand. The second difference is confusing for most beginners. These examples show how it works.
Omaha is often played high/low, meaning that the highest and lowest hands split the pot. The low hand usually must "qualify" by being at least an 8-low (the largest card must be 8 or lower). One can use a different two cards to compete for the high and low portions of the pot, and the game is played "cards speak" rather than "declare". Aces are either low or high, and straights and flushes don"t count for low. Since everybody must use two hole cards to make a hand, the board must have three cards 8 or lower for a low to even be possible. Players often tie for low, and the low half of the pot is divided equally among them. Some more examples:
As in all split-pot games, the real goal of playing any hand is to win both halves of the pot, or "scoop". Thus, hands that have a chance to win both ways are far superior to those that can only win one way. Q:P5 What should I expect the first time I play poker in a casino or card room? What etiquette should I follow? A:P5 [Michael Maurer] Many people are intimidated on their first visit to a public cardroom. Knowing what to expect and some simple rules of etiquette will help the first-time visitor relax and have a good time. Any cardroom with more than a few tables will have a sign-up desk or board for the various games being played. Usually someone will be standing here to take your name if a seat is not immediately available. This person can explain what games are offered, the betting limits, special house rules and so on. This is the moment of your first decision: which game and for what stakes? Choosing a game is fairly easy; you already know which game is most familiar to you. You may be surprised to find that your favorite home games are not spread in public cardrooms. Most will offer one or more of Texas Hold"em, Seven-Card Stud, and Omaha Hold"em (usually hi/lo split, 8-or-better for low). Sometimes you will find California Lowball (5-card draw for low), Seven-Card Stud hi/lo, or Hold"em variations like Pineapple. You will rarely find High Draw (5-card draw for hi), and will never find home game pot-builders like Anaconda, Follow-the-Queen, 7-27 or Guts. Except for the joker in draw poker, cardrooms never use wild cards. Choosing a betting limit is a bit harder. It is best to start playing at a limit so small that the money is not important to you. After all, with all the excitement of your first time playing poker there is no need to be worried about losing the nest egg to a table full of sharks. Betting limits are typically expressed as $1-$5 or $3-$6, and may be "spread-limit" or "structured-limit". A spread-limit means one can bet or raise any amount between the two numbers (although a raise must be at least as much as a previous bet or raise). For example, in $1-$5 spread-limit, if one person bets $2 the next person is free to call the $2 or raise $2, $3, $4, or $5, but cannot raise just $1. On the next round, everything is reset and the first bettor may bet anything from $1 to $5. In structured-limit like $3-$6 (usually recognizable by a factor of two between betting limits), all betting and raising on early rounds is in units of $3, and on later rounds is in units of $6. One only has a choice of *whether* to bet or raise; the amount is fixed by the limit. One usually doesn"t have a choice between spread and structured betting at a given limit. Keep in mind that it is quite easy to win or lose 20 "big bets" (the large number in the limit) in an hour of play. Also, since your mind will be occupied with the mechanics of the game while the regular players consider strategy, you are more likely to lose than win. In other words: choose a low limit. If the game you want is full, your name will go on a list and the person running the list will call you when a seat opens up. Depending on the cardroom, you may have trouble hearing your name called and they may be quick to pass you over, so be alert. Once a seat is available, the list person will vaguely direct you toward it, or toward a floorman who will show you where to sit. Now is the time for you to take out your money and for the other players to look you over. A good choice for this "buy-in" is ten to twenty big bets, but you must buy-in for at least the posted table minimum, usually about five big bets. Most public poker games are played "table-stakes", which means that you can"t reach into your pocket for more money during the play of a hand. It also means that you can"t be forced out of a pot because of insufficient funds. If you run out of money during a hand you are still in the pot (the dealer will say you are "all-in"), but further betting is "on the side" for an additional pot you cannot win. Between hands, you are free to buy as many chips as you want, but are not allowed to take any chips off the table unless you are leaving. This final rule gives opponents a chance to win back what they have lost to you. If you bust out, you may buy back in for at least the table minimum or leave. Once you have told the dealer how much money you are playing, the dealer may sell you chips right away or call over a chip runner to do so. You may want to tell the dealer that you are a first-time player. This is a signal to the dealer to give a little explanation when it is your turn to act, and to the other players to extend you a bit of courtesy when you slow down the game. Everyone will figure it out in a few minutes anyway, so don"t be bashful. You may even ask to sit out a few hands just to see how it all works. There are three ways that pots are seeded with money at the beginning of the hand. The most familiar to the home player is the "ante", where each player tosses a small amount into the pot for the right to be dealt a hand. The second way, often used in conjunction with an ante, is the "forced bring-in". For example, in seven-card stud, after everyone antes and is dealt the first three cards, the player with the lowest upcard may be forced to bet to get things started. The third way, often used in games without upcards like Hold"em or Omaha, is a "forced blind bet". This is similar to the bring-in, but is always made by the person immediately after the player with the "button". The "button" is a plastic disk that moves around the table and indicates which player is acting as dealer for the hand (of course, the house dealer does the actual dealing of cards, but does not play). A second or even third blind may follow the first, usually of increasing size. Whichever seed method is used, note that this initial pot, small as it is, is the only reason to play at all. If the game has blinds, the dealer may now ask you if you want to "post". This means, "do you want to pay extra to see a hand now, in bad position, and then pay the blinds, or are you willing to sit and watch for a few minutes?" Answer "no, I"ll wait" and watch the game until the dealer tells you it"s time to begin, usually after the blinds pass you. Finally, it is your turn to get cards and play. Your first impression will probably be how fast the game seems to move. If you are playing stud, several upcards may be "mucked" (folded into the discards) before you even see them; if you are playing hold"em, it may be your turn to act before you have looked at your cards. After a few hands you should settle into the rhythm and be able to keep up. If you ever get confused, just ask the dealer what is going on. When playing, consider the following elements of poker etiquette: Acting in Turn Although you may see others fold or call out of turn, don"t do it yourself. It is considered rude because it gives an unfair advantage to the players before you who have yet to act. This is especially important at the showdown when only three players are left. If players after you are acting out of turn while you decide what to do, say "Time!" to make it clear that you have not yet acted. Handling Cards You may find it awkward at first to peek at your own cards without exposing them to others. Note that the other players have no formal obligation to alert you to your clumsiness, although some will. Watch how the other players manage it and emulate them. Leave your cards in sight at all times; holding them in your lap or passing them to your kibitzing friend is grounds for killing your hand. Finally, if you intentionally show your cards to another player during the hand, both your hands may be declared dead. Your neighbor might want to see *you* declared dead :) if this happens! Protecting Cards In a game with "pocket cards" like Hold"em or Omaha, it is your responsibility to "protect your own cards". This confusing phrase really means "put a chip on your cards". If your cards are just sitting out in the open, you are subject to two possible disasters. First, the dealer may scoop them up in a blink because to leave one"s cards unprotected is a signal that you are folding. Second, another player"s cards may happen to touch yours as they fold, disqualifying your hand and your interest in the pot. Along the same lines, when you turn your cards face up at the showdown, be careful not to lose control of your cards. If one of them falls off the table or lands face-down among the discards your hand will be dead, even if that card is not used to make your hand. Accidentally Checking In some fast-paced games, a moment of inaction when it is your turn to act may be interpreted as a check. Usually, a verbal declaration or rapping one"s hand on the table is required, but many players are impatient and will assume your pause is a check. If you need more than a second to decide what to do, call "Time!" to stop the action. While you decide, don"t tap your fingers nervously; that is a clear check signal and will be considered binding. String Bets A "string bet" is a bet that initially looks like a call, but then turns out to be a raise. Once your hand has put some chips out, you may not go back to your stack to get more chips and increase the size of your bet, unless you verbally declared the size of your bet at the beginning. If you always declare "call" or "raise" as you bet, you will be immune to this problem. Note that a verbal declaration in turn is binding, so a verbal string bet is possible and also prohibited. That means you cannot say "I call your $5, and raise you another $5!" Once you have said you call, that"s it. The rest of the sentence is irrelevant. You can"t raise. Splashing the Pot In some home games, it is customary to throw chips directly into the pot. In a public cardroom, this is cause for dirty looks, a reprimand from the dealer, and possibly stopping the game to count down the pot. When you bet, place your chips directly in front of you. The dealer will make sure that you have the right number and sweep them into the pot. One Chip Rule In some cardrooms, the chip denominations and game stakes are incommensurate. For example, a $3-$6 game might use $1 and $5 chips, instead of the more sensible $3 chip. The one-chip rule says that using a large-denomination chip is just a call, even though the chip may be big enough to cover a raise. If you don"t have exact change, it is best to verbally state your action when throwing that large chip into the pot. For example, suppose you are playing in a $1-$5 spread-limit game, the bet is $2 to you, and you have only $5 chips. Silently tossing a $5 chip out means you call the $2 bet. If you want to raise to $4 or $5, you must say so *before* your chip hits the felt. Whatever your action, the dealer will make any required change at the end of the betting round. Don"t make change for yourself out of the pot. Raising Forever In a game like Hold"em, it is possible to know that you hold "the nuts" and cannot be beaten. If this happens when all the cards are out and you get in a raising war with someone, don"t stop! Raise until one of you runs out of chips. If there is the possibility of a tie, the rest of the table may clamor for you to call, since you "obviously" both have the same hand. Ignore the rabble. You"ll be surprised how many of your opponents turn out to be bona fide idiots. The Showdown Hands end in one of three ways: one person bets and everyone else folds, one person bets on the final round and at least one person calls, or everybody checks on the final round. If everybody folds to a bet, the bettor need not show the winning cards and will usually toss them to the dealer face down. If somebody calls on the end, the person who bet or raised most recently is *supposed* to immediately show, or "open", their cards. They may delay doing so in a rude attempt to induce another player to show their hand in impatience, and then muck their own hand if it is not a winner. Don"t do this yourself. Show your hand immediately if you get called. If you have called a bet, wait for the bettor to show, then show your own hand if it"s better. If the final round is checked down, in most cardrooms everyone is supposed to open their hands immediately. Sometimes everyone will wait for someone else to show first, resulting in a time-wasting deadlock. Break the chain and show your cards. Most cardrooms give every player at the table the right to see all cards that called to a showdown, even if they are mucked as losers. (This helps prevent cheating by team-play.) If you are extremely curious about a certain hand, ask the dealer to show it to you. It is considered impolite to constantly ask to see losing cards. It is even more impolite if you hold the winning cards, and in most cardrooms you will forfeit the pot if the "losing" cards turn out to be better than yours. As a beginner, you may want to show your hand all the time, since you may have overlooked a winning hand. What you gain from one such pot will far outweigh any loss due to revealing how you played a particular losing hand. "Cards speak" at the showdown, meaning that you need not declare the value of your hand. The dealer will look at your cards and decide if you have a winner. As a final word of caution, it is best to hold on to your winning cards until the dealer pushes you the pot. If the dealer takes your cards and incorrectly "mucks" them, many cardrooms rule that you have no further right to the pot, even if everyone saw your winning cards. Raking in the Pot As you win your first pot, the excitement within you will drive you beyond the realm of rational behavior, and you will immediately lunge to scoop up the precious chips with both arms. Despite the fact that no other player had done this while you watched, despite the fact that you read here not to do it, you WILL do it. Since every dealer has a witty admonition prepared for this moment, maybe it"s all for the best. But next time, let the dealer push it to you, ok? Touching Cards or Chips Don"t. Only touch your own cards and chips. Other players" chips and cards, discards, board cards, the pot and everything else are off-limits. Only the dealer touches the cards and pot. Tipping Dealers make their living from tips. It is customary for the winner of each pot to tip the dealer 50 cents to a dollar, depending on locale and the stakes. Sometimes you will see players tip several dollars for a big pot or an extremely unlikely suckout. Sometimes you will see players stiff the dealer if the pot was tiny or split between two players. This is a personal issue, but imitating the other players is a good start. Correcting Mistakes Occasionally the dealer or a player may make a mistake, such as miscalling the winning hand at the showdown. If you are the victim of such a mistake, call it out immediately and do not let the game proceed. If your opponent is the victim, let your conscience be your guide; many see no ethical dilemma in remaining silent. If you are not involved in the pot, you must judge the texture of the game to determine whether to speak up. In general, the higher the stakes, the more likely you should keep your mouth shut. Taking a Break You are free to get up to stretch your legs, visit the restroom and so on. Ask the dealer how long you may be away from your seat; 20 or 30 minutes is typical. It is customary to leave your chips sitting on the table; part of the dealer"s job is to keep them safe. If you miss your blind(s) while away, you may have to make them up when you return, or you may be asked to sit out a few more hands until they reach you again. If several players are gone from a table, they may all be called back to keep the game going; those who don"t return in time forfeit their seats. Color Change If you are in the happy situation of having too many chips, you may request a "color change" (except in Atlantic City). You can fill up a rack or two with your excess chips and will receive a few large denomination chips in return. These large chips are still in play, but at least you aren"t inconvenienced by a mountain of chips in front of you. Remember the one chip rule when betting with them. Leaving Leave whenever you feel like it. You never have an obligation to stay at the table, even if you"ve won a fortune. You should definitely leave if you are tired, losing more than you expect, or have other reasons to believe you are not playing your best game. Depending on the cardroom, you can redeem your chips for cash with a chip-runner or floorman or at the cashier"s cage. House Charges Last but not least is the matter of the house take. Somebody has to maintain the tastefully opulent furnishings and pay the electric bill. The money taken by the house is called the "drop", since it is dropped down a slot in the table at the end of each hand. The house will choose one of three ways to charge you to play. Time Charge A simple "time charge" is common in higher limit games and at some small games: seats are rented by the half hour, at rates ranging from $4 to $10 or so, depending on the stakes. This method charges all players equally. Rake Other cardrooms will "rake" a percentage of the final pot, up to some maximum, before awarding it to the winning player. The usual rake is either 5% or 10%, capped at $3 or $4. If the pot is raked, the dealer will remove chips from the pot as it grows, setting them aside until the hand is over and they are dropped into a slot in the table. This method favors the tight player who enters few pots but wins a large fraction of them. Button Charge A simpler method is to collect a fixed amount at the start of each hand; one player, usually the one with the dealer button, pays the entire amount of the drop. Depending on house rules, this "button charge" of $2-$4 may or may not play as a bet. If the chips do play as a bet, this method also favors the tighter players, but not nearly as much as the rake does. Regardless of the mechanism, a cardroom will try to drop about $80-$120 per hour at a $3-$6 table. The exact amount is most dependent on the local cost of doing business: Nevada is low, California and Atlantic City are high. Since there are 7-10 players at the table, expect to pay somewhere from $7 to $14 per hour just to sit down. Add $2-$4 per hour for dealer tips and you see why most low-limit players are long-run losers. More information on cardroom play and etiquette can be found in George Percy"s "Seven-Card Stud: The Waiting Game" and Lee Jones" "Winning Low-Limit Holdem". Beginning players may also want to watch for special cardroom promotions to draw new players; many offer free lessons followed by a very low-stakes game with other novices. Since everyone is a beginner, much of the tension is relieved. Q:P6 What are some good books about poker? A:P6 [Michael Maurer, December 1994] All thinking poker players should have this book on their shelf: David Sklansky, "The Theory of Poker" (formerly titled "Winning Poker"), Two Plus Two Publishing, 1992, $30. ISBN 1-880685-00-0. Beginners will benefit from the following: Dan Kimberg, "Serious Poker", Dan Kimberg Books, 2000, $13. ISBN: 0-970378-90-4. Lou Krieger and Richard Harroch, "Poker for Dummies", IDG Books Worldwide, 2000, $15. ISBN 0-764552-32-5. Mason Malmuth and Lynne Loomis, "Fundamentals of Poker", Two Plus Two Publishing, 1992, $4. ISBN 1-880685-11-6. This classic in the field is an advanced but slightly out-of-date work covering a wide range of games, including an excellent section on no-limit Hold"em: Doyle Brunson et al., "Super/System: A Course in Poker Power", B & G Publishing, 1978/1989, $50. ISBN 0-931444-01-4. The most recommended book for medium-limit Hold"em is David Sklansky and Mason Malmuth, "Hold"em Poker for Advanced Players", Two Plus Two Publishing, 1988/1993, $30. ISBN 1-880685-01-9. These works by fellow rec.gamblers have received favorable reviews: Lee Jones, "Winning Low-Limit Holdem", ConJelCo, 1994, $25. ISBN 1-886070-15-6. Lou Krieger, "Hold"em Excellence", ConJelCo, 2000, $20. ISBN 1-886070-14-8 . Beginning Seven Card Stud players must read this small spiral-bound gem: George Percy, "7 Card Stud: The Waiting Game", GBC Press, 1979, $9. ISBN 0-89650-903-6. More experienced stud players may benefit from David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth and Ray Zee, "Seven Card Stud for Advanced Players", Two Plus Two Publishing, 1992, $29.95. ISBN 1-880685-02-7. Finally, in a different vein is the following book about reading your opponents and preventing them from reading you: Mike Caro, "Mike Caro"s Book of Tells - The Body Language of Poker." Q:P7 What are some good magazines about poker? A:P7 [Michael Maurer] Card Player is the best established periodical for poker players. Each issue has several columns specifically about poker strategy, including regular features by Mike Caro and other household names. It lists schedules for small daily and weekly tournaments in the U.S. and Europe and reports large tournament results. Other sections cover gambling and the law, cardroom management, sports betting and general gambling news. Because it is financed largely by casino industry advertisements, it does not print unfavorable casino news and is not a good place to find a balanced review of a cardroom. It is available free in most cardrooms and offers subscriptions at first-class and bulk-mail rates.
The Card Player
3140 S. Polaris #8
Las Vegas, NV 89102
(702) 871-1720
(702) 871-2674 FAX
http://www.cardplayer.com/
Another magazine is Poker Digest magazine. Some of the popular writers formerly at Card Player are now regular contributors. Find out more from
Poker Digest
1455 E. Tropicana Suite #300
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Q:P8 What computer poker programs are best for my PC or Mac? A:P8 [Hans Ruegg, John Salmom] Commercial Programs There are many poker programs available but the quality of them ranges from terrible to fairly good. The following are worth considering: Wilson Software Turbo Series Seperate games are available for Texas Holdem, 7-card stud, Omaha-8 and Omaha High. There are both ring-game and tournament versions. Runs under DOS. Computer players are driven by large tables describing each decision point. These tables can be modified by the user to create new players. Play against the computer or let the computer players play each other in a fast mode. Check resulting statistics for the various strategies. Demo versions of Texas Holdem, 7-card stud, and Omaha-8 are available. The demos are limited in that only 50 rounds can be played and the cards are always the same. You can get the demos via FTP from the ConJelCo server (ftp.conjelco.com). Masque World Series of Poker Adventure Plays Texas Holdem, 7-card stud and Omaha. Also plays blackjack and other casino games. Runs under DOS. This is more of a fun simulation of playing in the World Series at Binions. Play ring games or other casino games to get enough money to enter a satellite. Win the satellite to get into the no-limit finals. Poker opponent play is pretty good, but not exactly World Champion level. No demo. Sometimes can be found in retail computer software stores. Simplified versions with only one game for a cheaper price (Masque Lite series) can also sometimes be found. iPoker Shareware for Macintosh, with nice graphics and GUI. See http://www.ouzts.net/iPoker/. Q:P9 What is IRC poker and how can I play? A:P9 [Michael Maurer, February 1998] IRC poker is a real-time network poker game that allows people from around the world to play poker with each other via the Internet. The stakes are "etherbucks", which is to say imaginary. Each player"s imaginary bankroll is recorded from session to session, and rankings of both bankroll and earning rate inspire competitiveness. An automatic program serves as the dealer and controls the action. Note: don"t confuse this IRC poker game with the older 5-card draw games on regular IRC The game uses the Internet Relay Chat, or IRC, to arrange communications amongst the players and with the dealer. IRC is normally a sort of global cocktail party, with several thousand people from around the globe engaged in small pockets of conversation on various "channels". Within each channel, anything one person types appears on the screens of all the other people tuned in to the channel (although one person can also "whisper" privately to another). The poker channels are unusual in that an automaton is always present to supervise a poker game. However, the chat aspect of the channel is preserved, so that the poker games can become quite social. In order to play IRC poker, you must have an IRC client and access to the Internet. The client is a program running on your local machine that connects you to the IRC network. Gpkr is reguarly maintained and sure to be up to date with the latest IRC poker changes. If you get Gpkr you can ignore most of what follows, since the Gpkr graphical interface takes care of the details behind the scenes. Once you have a client up and running, you need to connect to the special, isolated IRC poker server. In order to speed up the games, the poker server is not a part of the standard IRC network. The different clients have various ways to specify the IRC server you want to use; on Unix you can say
irc nickname irc.poker.net
or irc nickname 198.85.228.79
where "nickname" is the name by which you will be known to other IRC users. After a moment, this command should connect you to the IRC poker server and print a welcome message. (From this point on the instructions are Unix-specific, but many of the commands will work on the other clients as well). At this point you can find out what channels are open by typing /list which prints the topic of each channel, or you can see a more detailed view with /names which lists all of the people on each channel. As of May 1994, typical channels included #holdem, #omaha, and #nolimit. To join a particular channel (for instance, #holdem), type /join #holdem The action of the poker game and the ongoing conversations should now appear on your screen. The play of the game is governed by sending special messages to the dealer automaton; for example, the message p fold indicates that you wish to fold. All poker commands are prefixed with the letter "p". The command p commands gives a list of all possible commands. The most important are p join password - join the game (pick any password) - this starts your bankroll at $1000 p quit - quit the game p fold - fold when the action gets to you p check - check (do not bet or fold) p call - call a bet p raise - raise the bet On the non-structured channels like #nolimit, some of these commands may take an argument, such as p raise 50 When you join the channel you will notice the conspicuous absence of these "p" commands despite the ongoing play. This is because most players send their messages privately to the dealer only, using a command like /msg hbot p raise where "hbot" is the nickname of the dealer. (This is especially useful to hide your password when you join.) Because poker players are inherently lazy, most users of ircII have a special set of IRC macros that saves them the effort of typing all those characters each time they have to act. The file contains instructions for using it on a Unix machine. Although mIRC doesn"t understand these macros, it does let you set up customized menus and aliases yourself. In addition, curses and X-windows based front ends have been written for the poker games. The curses version uses simple terminal graphics to draw pictures of your cards and those of the other players, helping you to visualize the action. When other players fold their cards are mucked, and the board and pot are shown in the middle. This front end can be used in conjunction with the IRC macros mentioned above. [Note: as of 11/2/1999 this site was not responding.] Q:P10 What skills are important for Texas Hold"em? A:P10 [Michael Hall] (Hold "em) Poker Skills in Order of Importance Disclaimer: I"m a poker novice, not an expert. 0. Table selection 1. Hand selection 2. Reading opponents" hands 3. Opponent assessment 4. Heads up play, bluffing, and semi-bluffing 5. Seat selection 6. Check-raising 7. Getting tells 8. Pot odds calculations The exact order of importance of skills varies by game type. For example, you cannot read your opponent when your opponent does not know what he has. The list above is geared towards mid-level games where some sanity prevails but the game is not at an expert level either. 0. Table Selection. By far the most important skill is table selection, so it ranks better than #1, it"s #0. It doesn"t matter how well you play if you are always picking the games with no fish where even an expert can"t beat the rake. Most of your income will come from a few very bad players. If you play fairly well, you won"t lose much to the better players, nor win much from the slightly inferior players; it"s the fish that count. 1. Hand selection Now that you"ve found your table with a live one or two, be patient. More than just having the discipline to play good hands and the stomach for surviving the variance, you should realize that most of our income in Hold "em comes from AA and KK, with notable mention to the other pocket pairs and AK. Your object is to not lose too much while waiting for these premium hands, and particularly not to lose too much to these hands when other players get them. At $10-$20 and below, go ahead and make it 3 bets if you can before the flop with your AA or KK; you"ll be surprised at how little respect you get with people calling you all the way to the river even though your betting is screaming "I HAVE POCKET ACES!!!" And respect preflop raises done by other players, dumping a lot of hands you would normally play such as AT and KJ or even AJ and KQ, as you don"t want to make top pair versus an overpair. On the flop, don"t bet into someone who has made it three bets unless you can beat the shit out of AA and KK and *want* to be raised back and then just call and go for a check-raise on the turn. 2. Reading opponents" hands Now, think about the range of hands and their probabilities that your opponents could have. Initially, when the players receive their first two cards, every possible two card hand is equally probable (unless you start grouping them like 87 offsuit, pocket aces, etc., but you get the idea.) Every action a player takes gives you information that you can use to adjust these probabilities. It"s a Bayesian inference problem. Unfortunately, actually applying Bayes" rule exactly is beyond any puny human brain"s capability. So, you make a major approximation and essentially just keep around a set of possible hands, which you then prune down as action take place. Suppose a player just calls preflop in early position and the flop comes Q 7 2 offsuit and he suddenly goes berserk by reraising, you have to think about what hands are likely. The hands that make sense to reraise like that are AQ, KQ, Q7, 72, Q2, 77, and 22. QQ would probably be slow-played here instead. Now join that set with the possible hands before the flop. We can just look at these hands and see which are reasonable to just call preflop in early position. AQ and KQ are often raised in early position, but at least sometimes they just call, so they are still consistent. Q7, 72, and Q2 are not reasonable calls from early position. 77 and 22 are reasonable calls, though tight players would probably dump the 22. So that leaves AQ, KQ, 77, and 22 as his possible hands, which has narrowed down the field quite a bit. Be aware also of how other players may interpret your betting. 3. Opponent assessment As play goes along, give yourself a running commentary of the events, "she open-raises, he folds, he cold-calls...". You must make a lot of mental notes based on this, and you must do this even when you"re not in a hand, because in addition to being useful during a hand, it"s useful for later hands. You want to see the frequency with which a player sees the flop, the frequency with which a player defends his blinds from raises, and the hands a player open-raises with, raises with, reraises with, cold-calls with, and just calls with. This in conjunction with narrowing down the hands above will often give you a good idea of what"s going on even when there is no showdown. Your goal is to stereotype each player, as well as to note particular idiosyncrasies of the individuals for use not only now but in future sessions. 4. Heads up play, semi-bluffing, and bluffing Especially when heads-up, you should be constantly applying pressure to the other player to make him fold. You may reraise when you think you"re either beaten badly or your opponent is bluffing. It"s a bit like chess or wargames, with attacks, feints, counterattacks, and graceful retreats. This is part of the "feel" of poker that"s hard to put into words, but hopefully you get the idea. Bluffing and semi-bluffing is important to keep yourself unpredictable, and with since you"re keeping track of the ranges of plausible hands, it"s quite likely you"ll often know where your opponent stands. Cold bluffing is usually restricted to the river, where you might bet into one or two opponents (who might fold) if you have no chance of winning the pot if there is a showdown. Semi-bluffing is betting with a hand that is not likely best but has some big outs. Your opponent may fold immediately, and if not, you may hit your out and your opponent may seriously misread you. There is an important balance here; you must have sufficiently tight hand selection criteria such that when you do bet your opponent is positively terrified that you may have a big hand like an overpair. Semi-bluffing is very powerful, because you"ve been so careful in choosing your starting hands that even if you aren"t there yet you are likely to get there. 5. Seat selection Generally, you want the loose aggressive players to your right and the tight passive players to your left. This is so that you can see a raise coming before calling the first bet. However, if the game is tight enough that it is being folded around to the blinds often, then you want some very tight passive players in the two seats to your right, so that your blinds will not be stolen. This is a very important skill, and just because you"ve found a good table, doesn"t mean that every seat at that table would be a winning seat on average for you. 6. Check-raising Because the nature of fixed limit Hold "em makes calling one bet often correct for very weak hands, it"s difficult to protect your hand. A major weapon you have to protect your hand is check-raising. However, you must be conscious of where you think the bettor will be. Typically, if you had a made but vulnerable hand you would check in early position if you thought there would be a bet in late position; you then raise and the players in between face two bets plus a risk of a reraise by the late position player, making it difficult for them to call. If you have an invulnerable hand that you want to make everyone pay you through the nose for, then you would check in early position if you thought there would be an early position bet, and then you would raise after everyone trailed in calling behind. The down side of check-raising is that you risk giving a free card if no one bets. 7. Getting tells Be aware of tells. If a player has his hands on his chips and is leaning forward, all ready to raise if you bet, usually this is an act intended to get you to just check, as the player in fact does not what to raise you or maybe even call a bet. Two other incredibly valuable tells are the "what the heck, I raise" tell (get *out*, he has a monster!) and the "let me check to see if I have one of that suit with three on the board" tell (so you know he doesn"t have a flush already.) Remember that if they think they"re being watched, players typically act the opposite of what they have. 8. Pot odds calculations Be aware of pot odds. You can count the number of "outs" you have to estimate if calling is a positive expected value play. You may be surprised that I rank this so low. Although it is a subjective opinion, particularly when heads up it"s much more important outplay your opponent rather than outdraw him. In loose games, outdrawing becomes much more important, but then the pots are so big that you usually have odds for any half way reasonable draw anyway. Q:P11 What is a good preflop strategy for Texas Hold"em? A:P11 [Abdul Jalib] Abdul Jalib describes a carefully thought out preflop strategy Q:P12What is a good third street strategy for Seven Card Stud? A:P12 [JP Massar] Two Plus Two Publishing has requested that this section be removed from the FAQ. Until this issue is resolved, we are complying with their request. Q:P13 Why are poker hands ranked the way they are? A:P13 [Michael Maurer, Darse Billings, Roy Hashimoto] The standard poker hands are ranked based on the probability of their being dealt pat in 5 cards from a full 52-card deck. The following table lists the hands in order of increasing frequency, and shows how many ways each hand can be dealt in 3, 5, and 7 cards.
Notes: 1. The standard rankings are incorrect for 3-card hands, since it is easier to get a flush than a straight, and easier to get a straight than three of a kind. See question P15. 2. For 7-card hands, the numbers reflect the best possible 5-card hand out of the 7 cards. For instance, a hand that contains both a straight and three of a kind is counted as a straight. 3. For 7-card hands, only five cards need be in sequence to make a straight, or of the same suit to make a flush. In a 3-card hand a sequence of three is considered a straight, and three of the same suit a flush. These rules reflect standard poker practice. 4. In a 7-card hand, it is easier for one"s *best* 5 cards to have one or two pair than no pair. (Good bar bet opportunity!) However, if we changed the ranking to value no pairs above two pairs, all of the one pair hands and most of the two pair hands would be able to qualify for "no pair" by choosing a different set of five cards. 5. Within each type of hand (e.g., among all flushes) the hands are ranked according to an arbitrary scheme, unrelated to probability. See question P14. Q:P14 Why are ace-hi flushes ranked highest, when it"s much harder to get a seven-hi flush? And similarly for two pairs? A:P14 [Michael Maurer, Giancarlo DiPierro] [Michael Maurer"s original answer:] Only the classes themselves (flush, straight, etc) are ranked by the probability of getting them in five cards. Within each class we use an arbitrary system to rank hands of the same type. For example, our arbitrary system ranks four aces higher than four deuces, even though the hands occur with the same frequency. Similarly, flushes are ranked by the highest card, with the next highest card breaking ties, and so on down to the fifth card. This has the curious effect of creating many more ace-hi flushes than any other kind, because any flush that contains an ace is "ace-hi", regardless of the other cards. Thus, although 490 of the 1277 flushes in each suit contain a seven, only four of them are seven-hi flushes: 76542, 76532, 76432, and 75432. The median flush turns out to be KJT42. A similar situation occurs for two pair hands. There are twelve times as many ways to make two pair with aces being the high pair ("aces up") as there are to do it with threes as the high pair ("threes up"). While the aces can go with another other rank of pair, the threes must go with twos, or we would reverse the order and call them, for instance, "eights up". Note that it is fruitless to alter the relative rankings to try to account for this imbalance, since as soon as we do the cards will be reinterpreted to make the best hand under the new system. For example, if we decide to make "threes up" the best possible two pair hand, now all the hands like "eights and threes" will be interpreted as "threes and eights", and the population of "threes up" hands will soar twelve-fold. The median two pair hand turns out to be a tie between JJ552 and JJ44A. [Giancarlo DiPierro suggests a fresh interpretation:] You"ve figured it out. Flushes are not correctly ranked according to their mathematical probability. The ranking of flushes and no-pair hands by the highest card (hence the term "high-card" for no-pair hands) that is commonly used around the world today is an arbitrary system that likely dates back to when someone first started betting on poker hands. The correct way to rank these hands according to how hard they are be dealt becomes clear if you have ever played lowball or any high-low split game. In those games, low hands are ranked by the worst card, not the best card. Any 6-high low hand is ranked higher than any 7-high low hand because a 6-high is dealt three times less frequently than a 7-high. It doesn"t matter if the lowest card in the 7-high hand is an ace and the lowest card in the 6-high hand is only a deuce, the 6-high wins. Applying that principle to flushes and no-pair hands in high poker, a 9-low hand is dealt about three times less frequently than an 8-low and about seven times less frequently than a 7-low. So the 9-low should ranked higher, even if the 7-low contains an ace and the 9-low does not. In any situation where unpaired cards are determining the ranking of a hand, whether it is a flush, no-pair, or the side cards in hands with trips of equal rank, the worst card -- the lowest one -- should be used for the ranking. This concept also applies to two pair hands -- the mathematically correct way of ranking them would be to use the value of the lower pair. Kings-under-aces is twice as rare as any queens-under hand, three times are rare as jacks-under, four times as rare as tens-under, and twelve times as rare as dueces-under -- the easiest two pair to make. The next time your queens-under-kings loses to a pair of aces that turns into aces-and-dueces on the river, you can feel justified that mathematically, at least, you had the better hand! Q:P15 What is the correct ranking for 3-card poker hands? A:P15 [Darse Billings] The standard ranking of poker hands is based on their frequency of occurrence in a five card hand. In three card hands the relative frequency of hands is different, so different in fact that three of a kind beats a straight, and a straight beats a flush. The following is a break down of all three card poker hands. They can be used for certain three ca
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