Just Poker Talk

• WSOP 2007 Main Event Day 1B

If you want to review your ‘Dead Money’ bloggers Day 1A posts you can see the Posts Here. 

Scheduled just like Day 1A, six 2 hour rounds to be played over 15 hours or so.

Player totals reported by Poker News:

• Day 1A Players 1287
• Day 1B Players 1545
• Day 1C Registered 1606 no additional players will be allowed to register for Sunday. Any new registrations will be placed in Day 1D Monday.
• Total even if nobody plays on Monday = 4438.
• Chips Counts for Day 1B at Poker News 
• Round 1 Notable Eliminations reported on Poker News
  • Vanessa Selbst
  • Mike Wattel pushed All-In on the turn with Pocket Rockets, his opponent held and hit the back door Nut flush when the fell on the river.
• Round 2 Notable Eliminations from Poker News 
  • John Juanda called a re-raise that put his short stack All-In with Pocket 9s, his opponet had Rockets and Juanda did not improve and was sent to the rail early in the Main Event.
  • Barny Boatman lost an AKo vs AKo when his opponent drew a back door flush.

  Through the 1st two rounds very few notables have been busted. Here are more that are not noted above. Sam Grizzle, Mats Anderson and Bret Richey.

• Round 3 Notable Eliminations from Poker News
  • Aaron Kanter
  • Davidson Matthew when his did not improve and an opponent took the pot with .
  • Sam Farha
  • Howard Lederer when his Pocket 8s ran into Pocket Rockets.
  • Scott Clements
  • Simon ‘Aces’ Trumper
  • Robert Cheung was all in with and was called by a player with , Robert didn’t improve and was busted.
  • David Williams was short stacked and had a pair of 9s after the flop but an opponent flopped a Q and his pair of Qs busted David.
  • Annie Duke with ‘Big Slick’ lost when an opponent had pocket 6s and Annie didn’t improve.
  • Dan Shak
  • Dan Nassif
  • Justin Bonomo

Continue with Round 4, 5 and 6 eliminations on Just Poker Talk Day 1B posts.

Erik Seidel, Charlie Shoten, Tony G, Kirk Morrison, “Action” Bob Hwang, Vicky Coren, Scott Fischman, Juha Helppi, Marc Karam, Jeffrey Lisandro, Barny Boatman, Hoyt Corkins, Matt Matros, Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, Wendeen Eolis, Noah Boeken, Sam Grizzle, Evelyn Ng, Shirley Williams, Davidson Matthew, Scott Clements, Joe Hachem, Scotty Nguyen, Robert Mizrachi, Sammy Farha, Bill Chen, Gary Benson, Rolland De Wolfe, John Juanda, Joe Sebok, David Williams, J.J. Liu, David Singer, “Miami John” Cernuto, Sabyl Cohen, Mark Seif, Adam Schoenfeld, Jordan Morgan, Kathy Liebert, Paul Wasicka, Dan Harrington, Jason Lester, Jennifer Harman, Vanessa Selbst, Tom McEvoy, Berry Johnston, Dan Shak, John Strzemp, Aaron Kanter, Barry Shulman, Howard Lederer, Justin Bonomo,   

WSOP, WSOP Main Event, Day 1B, Erik Seidel, Charlie Shoten, Tony G, Kirk Morrison, “Action” Bob Hwang, Vicky Coren, Scott Fischman, Juha Helppi, Marc Karam, Jeffrey Lisandro, Barny Boatman, Hoyt Corkins, Matt Matros, Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, Wendeen Eolis, Noah Boeken, Sam Grizzle, Evelyn Ng, Shirley Williams, Davidson Matthew, Scott Clements, Joe Hachem, Scotty Nguyen, Robert Mizrachi, Sammy Farha, Bill Chen, Gary Benson, Rolland De Wolfe, John Juanda, Joe Sebok, David Williams, J.J. Liu, David Singer, “Miami John” Cernuto, Sabyl Cohen, Mark Seif, Adam Shoenfeld,   Jordan Morgan, Kathy Liebert, Paul Wasicka,  Dan Harrington, Jason Lester, Jennifer Harman, Vanessa Selbst, Tom McEvoy, Berry Johnston, Dan Shak,  John Strzemp, Aaron Kanter, Barry Shulman, Howard Lederer, Justin Bonomo,   

• WSOP 2007 Main Event Day 1A

If you haven’t already done so, please take a minute and go to this earlier in the week post and select your choice to win the 2007 WSOP Main from a poll at the bottom of the post. 

If you want to see what has happened in the 1st 3 Rounds of Day 1A go here to Just Poker Talk for the earlier action details.

Or you can just start below:

Bust outs provided by: Poker News

• 4th Round Notable Bust Outs
  • Thomas Wahlroos with his QQ bested when his opponent spiked a  to make a set.
  • Eugene Todd was all in pre-flop and then his A10 was outkicked by Billy Baxter’s AQ after an Ace hit the flop and Eugene didn’t improve.
  • Nestor Martinez after leading in chips earlier on Day 1A was All-In with and 3 other players called with ,,and theheld by Timten Oliver and when an AQ hit the flop Timten’s 2 Pair held up and sent Nestor and the 2 other callers to the rail.
• Round 5 Notable Bust Outs
  • Allen Kessler with a cruel beat when his Pocket Aces were up against Pocket Qs and 4 spades hit the board including on the river the best card in the deck that gave his opponent the back door flush.
  • Terrence Chan when his Pocket 8s couldn’t improve to his opponents Pocket Ks.
  • Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi when his pre-flop All-In with Pocket Js was out drawn when his opponent hit a 8 on the flop to go with his Pocket 8s.

Your ’Dead Money’ blogger always struggles playing Pocket Js and seemingly always loses with them, so he has much sympathy for ‘The Grinder’. I guess it is some small consolation that he got his money in with the best hand. I can hear Norman Chad now, ‘That’s Poker’.

• • David Grey went All-In with KJ offsuit with his short stack. He was called by an opponent with ‘Bullets’ and was sent to the rail.
  • Liz Lieu when an opponent had Pocket 6s and hit a set on the flop.
• Round 6 Notable Bust Outs
  • Victor Ramdin when his didn’t improve against Mark Vos who showed .
  • Teddy Sheringham
  • Mike Sexton pushed his short stack in with A4 suited and was called by Joe Awada with an AJ. Mike missed an inside straight draw after the flop and now is free to entertain and explain the finer points of Hold’em as the WPT Host.
  • Mark Vos when his opponent’s nut flush came on the river.
  • David ‘Devilfish’ Ulliot
  • Vince Van Patten ready to join Mike at the WPT.
  • Joe Awada pushed all-in with Pocket 9s and was called by a larger stack with ‘Blick Slick’ and an Ace spiked ending Joe Awada’s Main Event.
  • Andrew Black after having the chip lead for a long period of Day 1A.

As play moved through the later rounds it appeared players tightened up to get to the end of Day 1A with some exceptions I am sure. I say this because eliminations slowed down considerably.  

Play has ended for Day 1A nearly 16 hours after it began including 6 two hour rounds and over 800 eliminations. For Day 1A Chip counts head over to Poker News.

About 450 players remain with somewhere around $57,200 the average chip count.

Trying to use my mathematically challenged brain it appears there were 1287 players on Day 1A. Don’t hold me to that though.

WSOP, WSOP Main Event, Day 1A, Thomas Wahlroos, Eugene Todd, Billy Baxter, Nestor Martinez, Timten Oliver, Allen Kessler, Terrence Chan, Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi, Norman Chad, David Grey, Liz Lieu, Victor Ramdin, Teddy Sheringham, Mark Vos,   Mike Sexton, David ‘Devilfish’ Ulliot, Vince Van Patten, Joe Awada, Andrew Black,

• WSOP 2007 Main Event Day 1A

160 tables all with 10 seats but will start play with 9 players, the 10th seat will be filled as additional players register. Somewhere between 1250 and 1600 for Day 1A is the best guess so far.  

All players start with $20,000 this year but blind levels are doubled compared to previous years. A good representation of the effect of the changes to starting chips and blind increases can be seen at Hard Boiled Poker July 6, 2007 part 2. 

Will try and keep you ’posted’ on the happenings during Day 1A.  

12 hours of play is planned for Day 1a.

• Early Busts as reported on Poker News
  • 1st Player busted was Matt Jensen when a heart flush bested his pocket pair . Matt lasted approximately 20 minutes. 
  • Nick Frangos, his 2 pair  was beat by his opponents set ofs.
  • Chris Reslock called an All in on a diamond draw and the draw did not come in and his opponents 2 pair knocked him out.
  • Ram Vanswani just before the 1st break.
• 2nd Round Notable Bust Outs
  • Steve ‘MrSmokey1′ Billirakis
  • Doug Lee
  • Will Durkee
  • Marco Traniello
  • Beth Shak
  • Josh Arieh when his 2 pair went all in with 2 hearts on the board and his opponent turned over and the hit on the river.
  • Shane Schleger with ‘Big Slick’ to Richard Brodies pocket Js.
  • Eli Elezra pair of 10s lost to David Colclough’s 2 Pair - As and 10s.
• 3rd Round Notable Bust Outs
  • Dewey Tomko with ‘Blick Slick’ was bettered when his opponent had Pocket Ks.
  • Greg ‘FBT’ Mueller when his KJ didn’t improve against an opponents QQ.
  • John D’Agostino when his Pocket Js didn’t hold up against his opponents AQ and a Q spiked on the flop.
  • Armarillo Slim when his AK did not improve against his opponents Pocket 10s.
  • Marcel Luske when his went up against and the board did not help Marcel.
  • Mel Judah when his went up against and Mel didn’t improve.
  • Doyle Brunson who had 2 pair A-Q after the flop and went All-In, his opponent called and turned over Pocket Qs. Doyle was drawing to an A and didn’t hit it.
  • Arnold Spree
  • Gabriel Thaler
  • Guy Laliberte
  • Johhny Chan pushes with ‘Big Slick’ and loses when a opponent calls with A10 and a pair of 10s hit the board.

  Continue with rounds 4, 5 and 6 on Just Poker Talk Day 1A posts.

• Seen Playing on Day 1A
  • C.K. Hua, Beth Shak, Marco Traniello, Josh Arieh,  Andrew Black, Vince Van Patten, Lars Bonding, Richard “Quiet Lion” Brodie, Shane Schleger, Tony Ma, Arnold Spee, Keith Sexton, Greg “FBT” Mueller, Debbie Burkhead, Ram Vaswani, Mark Vos, An “The Boss” Tran, Huck Seek, Tobey McGuire, Jeff Madsen, Dewey Tomko, Alex Jacob, Johnny Chan, Marcel Luske, John Esposito, Mel Judah, Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi, Joe Tehan, Jon Little, John D’Agostino, Mike Sexton, Bobby Baldwin, WSOP POY, Tom ‘Donkey Bomber’ Schneider, David Grey, Amarillo ‘Slim’ Preston, Sherkhan Farnood, Dan Shak, Barry Greenstein, Andy Black, David “Devilfish” Ulliott, Joe Beevers, Joe Awada, Doug Lee, Doyle Brunson, Liz Lieu, Minh Ly, Perry Friedman, Eli Elezra
• Day 1A Chip counts by Poker News

WSOP, WSOP Main Event, Day 1A, C.K. Hua, Beth Shak, Marco Traniello, Josh Arieh, Andrew Black, Vince Van Patten, Lars Bonding, Richard “Quiet Lion” Brodie, Shane Schleger, Tony Ma, Arnold Spee, Keith Sexton, Greg “FBT” Mueller, Debbie Burkhead, Ram Vaswani, Mark Vos, An “The Boss” Tran, Huck Seek, Tobey McGuire, Jeff Madsen, Dewey Tomko, Alex Jacob, Johnny Chan, Marcel Luske, John Esposito, Mel Judah, Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi, Joe Tehan, Jon Little, John D’Agostino, Mike Sexton, Bobby Baldwin, WSOP POY Tom ‘Donkey Bomber’ Schneider, David Grey, Amarillo ‘Slim’ Preston, Sherkhan Farnood, Dan Shak, Barry Greenstein, Andy Black, David “Devilfish” Ulliott, Joe Beevers, Joe Awada, Doug Lee, Doyle Brunson, Liz Lieu, Minh Ly, Perry Friedman, Eli Elezra 

• Just in case you are playing in the WSOP Main Event starting Friday, here are odds if you are All In preflop for many of the Races you might face.

Pocket Pair vs Lower Pair                     Dominating             
82%             71%    

Pocket Pair vs Overcards                    Suited Over vs    Pair
55%            34%      

Pocket Pair vs 1 Over                          1 Over vs Suited Connector
69%            52%    

Pocket Pair vs Low Connect                 1 Over vs Unsuited Connect
81%             56%   

Pocket Pair vs Low S Connect               2 Over vs Unders
77%             68%    

Pocket Pair vs High S Connect              Pair vs Unders
50%            89%     

2 Overs vs Suited Connectors         Mixed: Hi-Con vs Low not Con
58%            64%      

2 Overs vs Unsuited Connect         Mixed: Hi not Con vs Low-Con
62%      58%       

So use this as your cheat sheet and you will know what your odds are when the cards are turned over. Hopefully you will have the best hand when the chips go All In. This chart was in Poker Pro Magazine July Issue.

WSOP, WSOP Main Event, Races, Poker, Hold ‘Em

• WSOP H.O.R.S.E Final Table

Freddy Deeb 2007 WSOP H.O.R.S.E World Champion. Freddy earns $2,276,832

Freddy wins his 2nd WSOP Bracelet adding to the 1996 $5,000 Duece to 7 Draw event bracelet.

Seating Assignments and Chip Counts:

 Provided by: 

Seat 1 - Kenny Tran - 2,445,000
Seat 2 - David Singer - 1,330,000
Seat 3 - Bruno Fitoussi - 895,000
Seat 4 - John Hanson - 1,995,000
Seat 5 - Freddy Deeb - 3,500,000
Seat 6 - Thor Hansen - 40,000
Seat 7 - Amnon Filippi - 4,015,000
Seat 8 - Barry Greenstein - 750,000

Chip Standings:

1 - Amnon Filippi - 4,015,000
2 - Freddy Deeb - 3,500,000
3 - Kenny Tran - 2,445,000
4 - John Hanson - 1,995,000
5 - David Singer - 1,330,000
6 - Bruno Fitoussi - 895,000
7 - Barry Greenstein - 750,000
8 - Thor Hansen - 40,000

• Eliminated in 8th Place Thor Hansen $188,256.

Thor was eliminated on the 1st hand of the final table - 7 Stud 8 or better Round 55.

• Eliminated in 7th Place Barry Greenstein $259,256

Barry was eliminated on the 23rd hand of the final table - Omaha 8 or better Round 57. 

• Eliminated in 6th Place David Singer $337,440 

David was eliminated on the 39th hand of the final table - Razz Round 58. David also finished 6th in the 2006 H.O.R.S.E. tournament. Quite an accomplishment 2 years in a row final table in HORSE.

Official Chip Counts at the beginning of Round 61 - Hold’em

Provided by:  

Seat 1 - Kenny Tran - 2,340,000
Seat 3 - Bruno Fitoussi - 2,380,000
Seat 4 - John Hanson - 4,100,000
Seat 5 - Freddy Deeb - 2,585,000
Seat 7 - Amnon Filippi - 3,465,000

• Eliminated in 5th Place Kenny Tran $444,000

Kenny was eliminated on the 114th hand of the final table - Razz Round 63.

• Eliminated in 4th Place Amnon Filippi $586,080

Amnon was eliminated on the 149th hand of the final table - 7 Stud 8 or better Round 65. Amnon started Day 5 as the Final Table Chip Leader.

• Marathon H.O.R.S.E Final Table

3:15 am Vegas Time shortly Round 73 - Razz will begin. 13 hours so far and no end in site.  

Official Chip Counts at the beginning of Round 73 - Razz

Provided by:

Seat 3 - Bruno Fitoussi - 6,000,000
Seat 4 - John Hanson - 4,180,000
Seat 5 - Freddy Deeb - 4,690,000

• Eliminated in 3rd Place John Hanson $852,480

John was eliminated on the 315th hand of the final table - Razz Round 73.

• Heads up for H.O.R.S.E Championship - Freddy Deeb with 10,400,00 and Bruno Fitoussi with 4,070,00 in chips. 

Going on 5am Vegas time.

• Eliminated in 2nd Place Bruno Fitoussi $1,278,720

Bruno was eliminated on the 341st hand of of the final table and the 24th hand of heads up - 7 Stud 8 or better Round 75.

• Freddy Deeb 2007 WSOP H.O.R.S.E World Champion and pockets $2,276,832 and of course the WSOP Gold Bracelet.

Freddy wins his 2nd WSOP Bracelet adding to the 1996 $5,000 Duece to 7 Draw event bracelet.

Another Just Poker Talk Poll:

WSOP, WSOP H.O.R.S.E, WSOP Main Event, WSOP Bracelet, Freddie Deeb, Bruno Fitoussi, John Hanson, Amnon Filippi, Kenny Tran, David Singer, Barry Greenstein, Thor Hansen

•  Have you voted in the Just Poker Talk Poker Peek Poll?

If not and you want to click Poker Peek Post to read and vote: 
Or you can just vote by clicking  Poker Peek Poll 

• WSOP H.O.R.S.E nearing completion 

Day 4 of the H.O.R.S.E World Championship started with 21 players and will complete when only 8 players remain. Champion will be crowned tomorrow at the completion of Day 5. Play started at 2 pm Vegas time and by 3:45 the bubble burst when Noah Jefferson was eliminated in 17th place. All remaining players will win at least $88,800. The H.O.R.S.E Champion will pocket $2,276.832 and of course the much coveted WSOP bracelet. Earlier on Day 4 Daniel Negreanu, Patrick Pezzin, Max Pescatori and Justin Bonomo were eliminated.

Here is how the final 2 tables and chip counts look: As provided by   

Final Two Tables

Official Chip Counts

Here are the official chip counts from the break:

ESPN’s FEATURED TABLE
Seat 1 - Chris Reslock - 185,000
Seat 2 - Amnon Filippi - 2,212,000
Seat 3 - Dewey Tomko - 762,000
Seat 4 - David Singer - 1,243,000
Seat 5 - Kenny Tran - 1,857,000
Seat 6 - Steve Wolff - 726,000
Seat 8 - Barry Greenstein - 938,000

TABLE 66
Seat 1 - Bruno Fitoussi - 2,300,000
Seat 2 - Mark Gregorich - 810,000
Seat 3 - Greg Raymer - 850,000
Seat 4 - Tim Phan - 1,195,000
Seat 5 - Thor Hansen - 610,000
Seat 6 - Gabe Kaplan - 810,000  You may know him as Mr. Kotter
Seat 7 - Freddy Deeb - 1,330,000
Seat 8 - John Hanson - 75,000

 Glad to see Mr. Kotter had made it so far in the H.O.R.S.E. tournament. Think Horshack is happy? Your foolish blogger is certainly pulling for him. Too bad that Barbarino and Washington got eliminated so early!

Update at 11pm Vegas time.

Final Table is set with the elimination of Mr. Kotter in 9th place. Gabe Kaplan wins $131,424.

Here are the official chip counts for the final table As provided by

Seat 1 - Kenny Tran - 2,445,000
Seat 2 - David Singer - 1,330,000
Seat 3 - Bruno Fitoussi - 895,000
Seat 4 - John Hanson - 1,995,000
Seat 5 - Freddy Deeb - 3,500,000
Seat 6 - Thor Hansen - 40,000
Seat 7 - Amnon Filippi - 4,015,000
Seat 8 - Barry Greenstein - 750,000

Earlier eliminations leading to the final table included:

• 10th - Dewey Tomko - $131,424
• 11th - Mark Gregorich - $117,216
• 12th - Stephen Wolff - $117,216
• 13th - Tim Phan - $103,008
• 14th - Greg Raymer - $103,008
• 15th - Chris Reslock - $88,800
• 16th - Mike Matusow - $88,800

Another Just Poker Talk Poll:

WSOP, WSOP H.O.R.S.E, WSOP Main Event, WSOP Bracelet

Omaha/8 is also known as Omaha Hi/Lo or Omaha eight-or-better. This game is a variation of Omaha (High). The games are identical in structure. The difference is that there can be two winners in Omaha/8, one with the high hand and one with the low. This small tweak or twist to the game adds new layers of complexity and opens the door for a variety of new strategies and approaches.

Omaha(High) was covered in a previous post, so I suggest reading that post if you are unfamiliar with regular Omaha. I plan to focus solely on the showdown, since determining the winner is the only stage that is different, though that is not to say that one would approach the flop, turn, and river in the same manner. There are new conditions and factors that need to be taken into account, however I will not be covering those factors since they fall into strategy rather than rules.

(more…)

2-7 Triple Draw is a very unique and fun (in my opinion) variation on a draw game in the poker world. The two main differences between it and Texas Hold’em are that each player receives five initial cards and ends with five cards from which they can make a hand instead of two hole cards and seven total cards in Hold’em, and that each player is allowed to exchange the cards they are initially delt for other cards (inplace of having any community cards or cards which would make the hand larger than five (as in Stud).

Learning the rules can be easily done just by reading this entry, but it takes much longer to learn how to win, and a lifetime (if you are lucky) to master.

Before I start with the rules, it is important to first grasp what hand will be the “winner”.

The winner:

First off, in order to make a winning hand, you must use all five of your five cards (a given, as you cannot NOT use them as they are all in your hand! lol) to make your 5-card hand.

The hand ranking is low wins, but the ranking is a bit different than games like Razz. In 2-7 Triple Draw, Aces are high instead of low, and flushes and straights count against the lowness of a hand. This may sound like it complicates the gameplay, but once you catch on, (which will happen fast) all is good!

Now, it is already in the name of the game, but I will state it anyway =). The game is triple draw, in that you get to draw three times. A draw is when you choose any number from zero to all five of your hole cards to throw back and exchange for different, new cards. In 5 Card Draw only one draw occurs. Because there are so many cards flying around the table to each player, the winning hand is normally quite low, so if you get stuck with a face card (if you stay in late enough with them to get stuck, lol) then the odds are extremely against you.

The best hand at the conclusion of the final round of betting takes the pot.

The start:

Before any cards are dealt, the blinds are posted by the players after the button. The button is just that… a round button which moves one space to the left each hand. The person directly to the left of the button is the small blind, and the next person is the big blind. So in a “5/10″ game, the blinds are 5chips and 10chips. Blinds exist to induce action.

Note: I am putting in the size of the big blind out of position because of an online poker rule that states if it is your first hand at the table you must post the big blind no matter where you are in relation to the button.

Here is an example:

The Deal:

Next, each player is delt five cards face-down which only they can see. This is also shown in the above image. Based on how good your cards are, you may wish to either fold, check, call or raise. The following image shows my five hole cards, and that someone raised the blind to 180. Raises and reraises can occur at any time, and is the most important part of the game. Knowing when to bet, raise and fold is eveything in poker. My hand is not the greatest hand to call with (Remember, ace is high, and I can’t use both 4’s), but since this is playmoney, I wanted to try and win to show off. =)

Here is the raise:

Draw #1:

“The Draw” is what gives this game its name. After the first round of betting, each player has the option of drawing, or throwing back cards in exchange for new cards, anywhere from 0 to all 5 of their hole cards. In the following image you can see that three of my cards are different than the previous image which was of my initial hole cards, this is because I chose to draw three cards in the first draw. You can also see that I didn’t get much help out of the draw. =) After the first draw, a round of betting takes place before Draw #2.

Here is my new hand:

Draw #2:

After the first draw, and the second round of betting, each player has the option of drawing, or throwing back cards in exchange for new cards, anywhere from 0 to all 5 of their hole cards. In the following image you can see that three of my cards are different than the previous image which was of my cards after the first draw, this is because I chose to draw three cards in the second draw. Notice that my hand is starting to look a little better (this is where the bit about a very low hand almost always winning comes in). After the second draw, a round of betting takes place before Draw #3 (the final draw).

Here is my new hand:

Draw #3:

After the second draw, and the third round of betting, each player has the option of drawing, or throwing back cards in exchange for new cards, anywhere from 0 to all 5 of their hole cards. In the following image you can see that two of my cards are different than the previous image which was of my cards after the second draw, this is because I chose to draw two cards in the second draw. Notice that my hand is almost the nuts, just one card off (those pesky kings stayed with me the whole game! Also note that one card off means your hand is aweful in poker. =) ). After the third draw, a round of betting takes (the fourth and final round).

Here is my new (and final) hand:

When the betting is complete, if there is more than one person left in the hand (as was the case this time), their hole cards are turned over and the winner is given the pot. If only one person remains due to a fold, then they only need to show their cards if they feel like it (most commonly done when showing off a bluff on a large pot to try and get your opponent on tilt), or otherwise they can Muck their cards which means they keep them face down while tossing them to the dealer.

In this example, only the winning hand is shown because of my lack of timing in snapping a screen shot, BUT there were other people in the hand, three others to be exact (including myself). Although most of my cards beat the winners lowest cards, it was that pesky king that sunk me. It is often that one highest card that you get stuck with at the end that does you in, but there are always times you lose with a great a hand to the nuts as well.

Here is the image of the winner and his hand:

Conclusion:

I hope this helps in your understanding of the rules of 2-7 Triple Draw. It is a rather straight-forward game that can be picked up after only watching a few hands. As with all forms of poker, the best way to learn is to play.

I will cover the strategy of the game in a later post, but since everyone has their own way of thinking, it is best to get out there now and find your own. Get the family or friends in a friendly game, or hop online and learn with playmoney chips (which I do not recommend aside from learning the rules, as learning strategy is near impossible with the reckless play exhibited by people who play with playmoney).

Poker, 2-7 Triple Draw, 2-7 Triple Draw Rules, Draw Rules, Poker Rules

Razz is a slightly less popular game in the poker world than the others previously described. The three largest differences between Razz and games like Omaha and Hold’em are that 1.) there are NO community cards in Razz, 2.) suit DOES matter (but only for the “bring-in”), and 3.) the only game variation in Razz is LIMIT.

Limit Razz is the only form of Razz played. By stating that the game is 5/10, you are stating the limits. The first bet through fourth street can only be in intervals of the small bet (in this case 5). The rest of the bets are in intervals of 10 and are the large bets or big bets. You may bet 5, or raise someone else’s bet of 5 by another 5. Raises can happen only a maxium of four times per betting round. SO, if the bet is 5, then the maximum bet per player would be 20 if the bet was raised to its maximum level.

Learning the rules can be easily done just by reading this entry, but it takes much longer to learn how to win, and a lifetime (if you are lucky) to master.

Before I start with the rules, it is important to first grasp what hand will be the “winner”.

The winner:

First off, in order to make a winning hand, you must use five of your seven cards, to make your 5-card hand.

The hand ranking is different from many poker games in that you are going for the best LOW hand, not HIGH hand. Refer to my low hand rankings if you are fuzzy on how things go. The “eight or better” rule is not in effect in Razz, which means any card, from Ace low to King high can be used in your five card (LOW) hand, though the lower the better (of course!).

The best (lowest) hand at the conclusion of the final round of betting takes the pot.

The start:

Before any cards are dealt, the ante is posted by EVERY player at the table. Their are NO BLINDS in Razz as there are in other poker games like Hold’em.

Here are the antes being posted:

There is also no button to be passed around the table. Because there is no button, there must be a different way to decide who starts the action. That way is this: the person with the highest card showing (the third one dealt as seen in the image below), is the first to act. Incase of a tie in cards, this is where suit matters. The order of suit from worst to best is: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades. The person who has the lowest card is called the “bring-in” and MUST bet. They have the option of betting the small bet, or half of the small bet and DO NOT have the option of checking the ante or folding it.

Hole cards:

Next, each player is delt three cards: two face-down which only they can see, and one face up which everyone can see (this card determines the bring-in as mentioned above. This is also shown in the above image. Based on how good your cards are, you may wish to either fold, check, call or raise (unless you are the bring-in which would force you to bet). Raises and reraises can occur at any time, and is the most important part of the game. Knowing when to bet, raise and fold is eveything in poker.

Here are the hole cards:

Fourth street:

Now that everyone has recieved their three hole cards, and bet the pot up to their heart’s content, it is time to throw some more cards down. The next card is also face up, meaning everyone can see it. Because there is no blind, the method used to determine who acts first is different; it is also different than the bring-in. The player whose two showing cards have the lowest poker value is the player who acts first in this round of betting. The first to act can either check or bet the small bet.

Here is an example of fourth street:

Fifth street:

The next card is also face up, meaning everyone can see it. Because there is no blind, the method used to determine who acts first is different; it is also different than the bring-in. The player whose showing cards have the lowest poker value is the player who acts first in this round of betting. Starting on fifth street and carrying through to seventh, the bets are intervals of the big bet.

Here is the image:

Sixth street:

The next card is also face up, meaning everyone can see it. Because there is no blind, the method used to determine who acts first is different; it is also different than the bring-in. The player whose showing cards have the lowest poker value is the player who acts first in this round of betting. The bets continue to be in terms of the big bet.

Here is the image:

Seventh street:

The next, and final card is face down, meaning only you can see it. Because there is no blind, the method used to determine who acts first is different; it is also different than the bring-in. The player whose showing cards have the lowest poker value is the player who acts first in this round of betting. The bets continue to be in terms of the big bet.

Here is the image:

When the betting is complete, if there is more than one person left in the hand, their down cards are turned over and the winner is given the pot. If only one person remains due to a fold, then they only need to show their cards if they feel like it (most commonly done when showing off a bluff on a large pot to try and get your opponent on tilt), or otherwise they can Muck their cards which means they keep them face down while tossing them to the dealer.

In the game we have been following in the series of screenshots used in this entry, the winner was my only opponent through most of the hand, and as was obvious early on, he was the winner. But hey, I had to stay in to get all the screenshots, so it isn’t my fault for losing the pot! =)

Here is the image of the winner (which is also seen in the previous image):

Conclusion:

I hope this helps in your understanding of the rules of Razz. It is a rather straight-forward game that can be picked up after only watching a few hands. As with all forms of poker, the best way to learn is play.

I will cover the strategy of the game in a later post, but since everyone has their own way of thinking, it is best to get out there now and find your own. Get the family or friends in a friendly game, or hop online and learn with playmoney chips (which I do not recommend aside from learning the rules, as learning strategy is near impossible with the reckless play exhibited by people who play with playmoney).

Poker, Razz, Razz Rules, Poker Rules

5 Card Draw is a very common and popular game in the poker world. It is a common game with children who just learning card/poker games as it is perhaps the easiest well known poker game to learn. The two main differences between it and Texas Hold’em are that each player receives five initial cards and ends with five cards from which they can make a hand instead of two hole cards and seven total cards in Hold’em, and that each player is allowed to exchange the cards they are initially delt for other cards (inplace of having any community cards or cards which would make the hand larger than five (as in Stud).

Learning the rules can be easily done just by reading this entry, but it takes much longer to learn how to win, and a lifetime (if you are lucky) to master.

Before I start with the rules, it is important to first grasp what hand will be the “winner”.

The winner:

First off, in order to make a winning hand, you must use all five of your five cards (a given, as you cannot NOT use them as they are all in your hand! lol) to make your 5-card hand. Even if you only make a pair, you still have a 5 card hand, the three highest cards left would fill out your hand and they would act as kickers.

The hand ranking is the same as any poker match, from high card to a royal flush.

A low pair will almost, if not never, win. Because each player is dealt five cards, there are many cards in play which almost always leads to a pair at the initial dealing for at least one player at the table. Add to that the fact that any number of cards can be exchanged, and two pair and sets become commonplace.

The best hand at the conclusion of the final round of betting takes the pot.

The start:

Before any cards are dealt, the blinds are posted by the players after the button. The button is just that… a round button which moves one space to the left each hand. The person directly to the left of the button is the small blind, and the next person is the big blind. So in a “5/10″ game, the blinds are 5chips and 10chips. Blinds exist to induce action.

Note: I am putting in the size of the big blind out of position because of an online poker rule that states if it is your first hand at the table you must post the big blind no matter where you are in relation to the button.

Here is an example:

The Deal:

Next, each player is delt five cards face-down which only they can see. This is also shown in the above image. Based on how good your cards are, you may wish to either fold, check, call or raise. The following image shows my five hole cards, and that I raised the blind to 120. Raises and reraises can occur at any time, and is the most important part of the game. Knowing when to bet, raise and fold is eveything in poker. My pair of Aces is not the greatest hand to raise with, but it is rather nice, and since this is playmoney, I wanted to try and win to show off. =)

Here is the raise:

The Draw Part 1:

“The Draw” is what gives this game its name. After the first round of betting, each player has the option of drawing, or throwing back cards in exchange for new cards, anywhere from 0 to all 5 of their hole cards. In the following image you can see that two of my five cards are raised; those are the two I am drawing or throwing away. It may seem odd that I am not throwing back the 10 as well, but that falls under my strategy which as I will mention at the end of the this post will be covered in a later entry.

Here are the cards I am throwing away:

The Draw Part 2:

Once you draw your cards, you get new ones back, as seen in the image below. I threw away two “junk” cards and got two Jacks in return to give me top two pair. Once everyone has drawn their cards, the second and final round of betting takes place (hence this being an “easy” poker game: only two rounds of betting and only one card exchange/flop/etc.). It is not shown in the below image, but I raised the pot 500 with my top two pair, which caused one of the players to fold and another to call.

Here is the image of my nice new jacks:

When the betting is complete, if there is more than one person left in the hand (as was the case this time), their hole cards are turned over and the winner is given the pot. If only one person remains due to a fold, then they only need to show their cards if they feel like it (most commonly done when showing off a bluff on a large pot to try and get your opponent on tilt), or otherwise they can Muck their cards which means they keep them face down while tossing them to the dealer.

In this example, since someone called my raise, we both showed our cards. I showed my two pair (aces high) and my opponent showed his hand which turned out to also be two pair (kings high). He called the large bet with a strong hand, but his kings were beat by my aces and I took the pot.

Here is the image:

Conclusion:

I hope this helps in your understanding of the rules of 5 Card Draw. It is a rather straight-forward game that can be picked up after only watching a few hands. As with all forms of poker, the best way to learn is to play.

I will cover the strategy of the game in a later post, but since everyone has their own way of thinking, it is best to get out there now and find your own. Get the family or friends in a friendly game, or hop online and learn with playmoney chips (which I do not recommend aside from learning the rules, as learning strategy is near impossible with the reckless play exhibited by people who play with playmoney).

Poker, 5 Card Draw, 5 Card Draw Rules, Draw Rules, Poker Rules

7 card stud is an extremely popular game in the poker world. It is a common game for both pros and beginners alike. Stud high refers to the fact that the highest/best hand takes the entire pot, which is different than Stud high/low where high only wins half the pot, with the worst/lowest hand winning the other half. The three largest differences between Stud and games like Omaha and Hold’em are that 1.) there are NO community cards in Stud, 2.) suit DOES matter (but only for the “bring-in”), and 3.) the only game variation in Stud is LIMIT.

Limit Stud is the only form of Stud played. By stating that the game is 5/10, you are stating the limits. The first bet through fourth street can only be in intervals of the small bet (in this case 5). The rest of the bets are in intervals of 10 and are the large bets or big bets. You may bet 5, or raise someone else’s bet of 5 by another 5. Raises can happen only a maxium of four times per betting round. SO, if the bet is 5, then the maximum bet per player would be 20 if the bet was raised to its maximum level.

Learning the rules can be easily done just by reading this entry, but it takes much longer to learn how to win, and a lifetime (if you are lucky) to master.

Before I start with the rules, it is important to first grasp what hand will be the “winner”.

The winner:

First off, in order to make a winning hand, you must use five of your seven cards, to make your 5-card hand. Even if you only make a pair, you still have a 5 card hand, the three highest cards left would fill out your hand and they would act as kickers.

The hand ranking is the same as any poker match, from high card to a royal flush.

A low pair will rarely win, but a flush or straight has a rather nice shot of holding up. Because each player has seven cards available to them, the quality of hands are somewhat similar to that of a Hold’em game, which each player has seven cards as well (2 hole cards and 5 community). Because each player has seven DIFFERENT cards in Stud; however, there are more cards in play and the better hands do come out somewhat more often than in Hold’em, yet still not as often as in Omaha which each has 9 cards (4 hole cards and 5 community).

The best hand at the conclusion of the final round of betting takes the pot.

The start:

Before any cards are dealt, the ante is posted by EVERY player at the table. Their are NO BLINDS in Stud as there are in other poker games like Hold’em. There is also no button to be passed around the table. Because there is no button, there must be a different way to decide who starts the action. That way is this: the person with the lowest card showing (the third one dealt as seen in the image below), is the first to act. Incase of a tie in cards, this is where suit matters. The order of suit from worst to best is: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades. The person who has the lowest card is called the “bring-in” and MUST bet. They have the option of betting the small bet, or half of the small bet and DO NOT have the option of checking the ante or folding it.

Here is an example:

Hole cards:

Next, each player is delt three cards: two face-down which only they can see, and one face up which everyone can see (this card determines the bring-in as mentioned above. This is also shown in the above image. Based on how good your cards are, you may wish to either fold, check, call or raise (unless you are the bring-in which would force you to bet). Raises and reraises can occur at any time, and is the most important part of the game. Knowing when to bet, raise and fold is eveything in poker.

Fourth street:

Now that everyone has recieved their three hole cards, and bet the pot up to their heart’s content, it is time to throw some more cards down. The next card is also face up, meaning everyone can see it. Because there is no blind, the method used to determine who acts first is different; it is also different than the bring-in. The player whose two showing cards have the highest poker value is the player who acts first in this round of betting. If no one is showing a pair in their two showing cards, the first to act can either check or bet the small bet, if a pair IS showing, then they have the option of checking, betting the small bet, OR betting the big bet.

Here is an example of fourth street:

Fifth street:

The next card is also face up, meaning everyone can see it. Because there is no blind, the method used to determine who acts first is different; it is also different than the bring-in. The player whose showing cards have the highest poker value is the player who acts first in this round of betting. Starting on fifth street and carrying through to seventh, the bets are intervals of the big bet.

Here is the image:

Sixth street:

The next card is also face up, meaning everyone can see it. Because there is no blind, the method used to determine who acts first is different; it is also different than the bring-in. The player whose showing cards have the highest poker value is the player who acts first in this round of betting. The bets continue to be in terms of the big bet.

Here is the image:

Seventh street:

The next, and final card is face down, meaning only you can see it. Because there is no blind, the method used to determine who acts first is different; it is also different than the bring-in. The player whose showing cards have the highest poker value is the player who acts first in this round of betting. The bets continue to be in terms of the big bet.

Here is the image:

When the betting is complete, if there is more than one person left in the hand, their down cards are turned over and the winner is given the pot. If only one person remains due to a fold, then they only need to show their cards if they feel like it (most commonly done when showing off a bluff on a large pot to try and get your opponent on tilt), or otherwise they can Muck their cards which means they keep them face down while tossing them to the dealer.

In the game we have been following in the series of screenshots used in this entry, the winner of the small side pot has two pair (7’s and 4’s) and the winner of the main pot also has two pair (kings and 8’s). Though they both have two pair, the higher pair in the set (kings over sevens) takes the pot.

Here is the image:

Conclusion:

I hope this helps in your understanding of the rules of Seven Card Stud. It is a rather straight-forward game that can be picked up after only watching a few hands. As with all forms of poker, the best way to learn is play.

I will cover the strategy of the game in a later post, but since everyone has their own way of thinking, it is best to get out there now and find your own. Get the family or friends in a friendly game, or hop online and learn with playmoney chips (which I do not recommend aside from learning the rules, as learning strategy is near impossible with the reckless play exhibited by people who play with playmoney).

Poker, Stud, Seven card stud, Stud Rules, Seven Card Stud Rules, Poker Rules

Omaha is a very common and popular game in the poker world. Omaha high refers to the fact that the highest/best hand takes the entire pot, which is different than Omaha high/low where high only wins half the pot, with the worst/lowest hand winning the other half. The two main differences between it and Texas Hold’em are that each player receives four hole cards instead of two, and that each player must use three community cards instead of anywhere from one to five as is the case in Hold’em.

Learning the rules can be easily done just by reading this entry, but it takes much longer to learn how to win, and a lifetime (if you are lucky) to master.

Before I start with the rules, it is important to first grasp what hand will be the “winner”.

The winner:

First off, in order to make a winning hand, you must use two of your four hole cards, and 3 of the community cards to make your 5-card hand. Even if you only make a pair, you still have a 5 card hand, the three highest cards left would fill out your hand and they would act as kickers.

The hand ranking is the same as any poker match, from high card to a royal flush.

A low pair will almost, if not never, win. Because there are four cards in each players hole, flushes and straights are rather common, making the hands that will take the pot of a higher grade than in Hold’em.

The best hand at the conclusion of the final round of betting takes the pot.

The start:

Before any cards are dealt, the blinds are posted by the players after the button. The button is just that… a round button which moves one space to the left each hand. The person directly to the left of the button is the small blind, and the next person is the big blind. So in a “5/10″ game, the blinds are 5chips and 10chips. Blinds exist to induce action.

Here is an example:

Hole cards:

Next, each player is delt four cards face-down which only they can see. This is also shown in the above image. Based on how good your cards are, you may wish to either fold, check, call or raise. The following image shows my four hole cards, and that someone raised the blind to 1,000. Raises and reraises can occur at any time, and is the most important part of the game. Knowing when to bet, raise and fold is eveything in poker. My Q-10-10-3 would not be call-worthy of such a large bet pre-flop in a cash game, but since this is playmoney and I wanted to try and win to show off, I stayed in. =)

Here is the raise:

Community cards:

Now that everyone has recieved their four hole cards, and bet the pot up to their heart’s content, it is time to throw some more cards down. The method of doing so is referred to as “burn’em and turn’em”. The card on top of the deck is “burned” and discarded, never to be looked at or used. This occurs before both the flop, turn, and river. The next three cards are taken out and turned over for all to see in the middle of the table. These are the first of 5 total community cards. In Omaha you must use 3 of the community cards to make your best 5 card hand. After the flop, a round of betting ensues before the turn.

Here is an example of a flop:

The Turn:

After another card is burned (the second in total), a fourth card is added to the community cards. This fourth card is referred to as “The Turn” or “Fourth Street”. Another round of betting ensues before the fifth and final card is added to the community cards.

In this example, there is a pair of 2’s, a 9 and a King on the board (communty cards). With three people in the hand and a nice size pot going, the odds are someone has a two to make a set, or possibly even a full house, and also a nice flush draw, so unless you have a set or higher, or if you want to test your luck, a strong flush draw, now is the time to get out of the hand.

Here is the image:

The River:

The fifth and final community also comes after a burned card (the third and final one), and is called either “The River” or “Fifth Street”. Once in play, it is time to size up you and your opponent’s hands and decide whether it is time to take part in this final round of betting.

Here is the image:

When the betting is complete, if there is more than one person left in the hand, their hole cards are turned over and the winner is given the pot. If only one person remains due to a fold, then they only need to show their cards if they feel like it (most commonly done when showing off a bluff on a large pot to try and get your opponent on tilt), or otherwise they can Muck their cards which means they keep them face down while tossing them to the dealer.

In this example, one of the players got lucky with a jack on the river which gave them a full house for the win. Please pardon the large yellow box obscuring your view of the table. (Have to love those online tournament and winnigs announcements! lol)

Here is the image:

Conclusion:

I hope this helps in your understanding of the rules of Omaha. It is a rather straight-forward game that can be picked up after only watching a few hands. As with all forms of poker, the best way to learn is play.

I will cover the strategy of the game in a later post, but since everyone has their own way of thinking, it is best to get out there now and find your own. Get the family or friends in a friendly game, or hop online and learn with playmoney chips (which I do not recommend aside from learning the rules, as learning strategy is near impossible with the reckless play exhibited by people who play with playmoney).

Poker, Omaha, Omaha Rules, Poker Rules

The following are a ranking from worst to best (in the order of top to bottom in this post) in a LOW game of poker. Low as opposed to high. These hands apply to many games of poker including Omaha High/Low and Stud High/Low.

General info:

When going for low, you want just that… LOW cards. Only cards that are an 8 or lower can even qualify for low. Anything higher is a bad card to have when going for low. Straights and flushes do not help or hurt a low hand, it is only card value that matters.

The hands:

Eight high: The worst possible hand for low. Eight high consits of an eight and then four lower cards. This hand will very rarely win a pot. If two players both have an eight high hand, then the person with the lowest next highest card wins. If I have 8,7,3,2,A and you have 8,6,5,4,3, you win the pot. The only other card that matters after the eight is the next highest card, my low cards (3,2,A) do not help me when I have a 7 and you have a 6 as your next highest card.

Seven high: Another not so hot hand for low. It will beat eight high, but runs into trouble often due to 6 and 5 high hands. If two players both have seven high, the next highest card determines the winner, just as with eight high listed above.

Six high: A pretty good hand for low. It can only be beat by a lower six high, or a five high hand. If two players both have six high, the next highest card determines the winner, just as with eight high listed above.

Five high/Wheel: Five high or a “Wheel” as it is sometimes called is the best possible low hand. Nothing beats it. Because you need to use five cards in a low hand, the only possible combination for a Wheel is a straight from Ace to 5 (A,2,3,4,5). If two player both a wheel, they split the pot as there can be no better version of a wheel than another.

I hope this helped you in your understanding of ranked hands for a low game. If you need/want any clarification, please let me know via a reply to this post, or via email.

Good luck at the tables!

Poker hand rankings, best poker hand for low, worst poker hand for low, order of poker hands, best low hand, worst low hand

The following are a ranking from worst to best (in the order of top to bottom in this post) in a HIGH game of poker. High as opposed to low. These hands apply to many games of poker including Hold’em and Omaha. (They also apply to the high in Omaha High/Low).

Kickers:

No matter what the hand, kickers can come into play. Kickers are used when two players both have the best hand at the table. For example, if I have two Aces and you have the other two aces, then we tie. The next highest card in our possesion becomes our kicker. If my next highest card is a ten and yours is a queen, then you win the pot. If we both have the same kicker, we look to the next highest card and so on, with a pair of completely the same hand (very rare) resulting in a split pot (we each get half).

Trips/sets do not have kickers, the highest set wins. Your tens over my fours. Flushes and straights are decided on the highest non community card in them. If you have a ten high straigh and mine is an 8 high… you win. If we both have a spade flush, but you have the nuts in the form of the ace of spades, then you take the pot.

The hands:

High Card: High card applies to the highest card in your possession when making a hand. If you have King, Jack, Five, Four, Two in your hand, your best hand is “King High”.

Pair: A pair occurs when you have two of the same card in your five card hand. Two twos would be the worst pair, and two aces would be the best pair.

Two Pair: Two pair is just that, two pairs. If four cards out of your five card hand form two sets of pairs, then you have two pair. The higher set determines the winner if two players both have two pair and no one has a higher ranked hand. Your aces and twos beat my kings and queens. If we both have aces, then the rank of the second pair determines the winner.

Three of a kind: Another easy on to guess. Three of a kind occurs when you have three of the same card, such as the two of diamonds, two of spades, and two of hearts. The higher ranked set of three wins the hand if two players have trips and no one has a higher ranked hand at the table.

Straight: A straight occurs when all five of your cards are in sequential order, such as: 7,8,9,10,J. The suit of the cards do not matter, though if they are all the same suit, say spades, then you have a straight flush which is a higher ranked hand then a normal straight. If two players both have straights, then the highest card in the series takes the pot. Your 7-J over my 6-10.

Flush: A flush occurs when all five of your cards are the same suit. No suit is better than another, as is the same with all poker hands. If two players both have a flush, then the highest card in the flush wins, ace of course being high. If both players have the same highest card, the next highest is used, and so on.

Full house: A full house occurs when you have both a pair and a set in your five card hand, such as: three sevens and two threes. If two players both have a full house, the rank of the set in the full house determines the winner, with ace once again being high.

Four of a kind: A rare feat, but one which gives a great feeling. This occurs when four out of the five cards in your hand are all the same, such as the two of diamond, the two of hearts, the two of spades, and the two of clubs. If two players have quads, the highest ranking quad takes the pot, with ace being high.

Straight flush: Another rare feat. This occurs when all five of your cards are not just in sequential order (7,8,9,10,J), but ALSO of the same suit, such as 7,8,9,10,J all of hearts. If two players both have a straight flush, the highest card in the sequence (J in this case) determines the winner.

Royal flush: The best possible hand in poker, and an EXTREMELY rare find. It takes some serious luck to pull this one off. A royal flush is the same thing as a straight flush, but instead of ANY sequence working, a royal flush MUST be Ace to ten, and all of the same suit, such as: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, all of spades.

Hopefully this helps in your understanding of hand rankings. If anyone wants/needs clarification on anything, feel free to reply to this thread or email me. Enjoy your poker playing!

Poker hand rankings, best poker hand, worst poker hand, order of poker hands

Texas Hold’em is the king of poker. It is the game you most often see being played on televised tournaments including the World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event, the biggest cash prize in the poker world.

Learning the rules can be easily done just by reading this entry, but it takes much longer to learn how to win, and a lifetime (if you are lucky) to master.

Before I start with the rules, it is important to first grasp what hand will be the “winner”.

The winner:

First off, in order to make a winning hand, you can use one, both, or none of your two hole cards, and anywhere from 3 to all 5 of the community cards to make your 5-card hand. Even if you only make a pair, you still have a 5 card hand, the three highest cards left would fill out your hand and they would act as kickers.

The hand ranking is the same as any poker match, from high card to a royal flush.

A low pair will rarely win, but a flush or even a set will give you some great odds.

The best hand at the conclusion of the final round of betting takes the pot.

The start:

Before any cards are dealt, the blinds are posted by the players after the button. The button is just that… a round button which moves one space to the left each hand. The person directly to the left of the button is the small blind, and the next person is the big blind. So in a “5/10″ game, the blinds are 5chips and 10chips. Blinds exist to induce action.

Here is an example: Note that the second stack of 10 chips is a Pokerstars (and other places) rule where if you are playing your first hand at the table you must post the amount of the big blind no matter where you are in relation to the button.

Hole cards:

Next, each player is delt two cards face-down which only they can see. This is also shown in the above image. Based on how good your cards are, you may wish to either fold, check, call or raise. The following image shows my two hole cards, and that someone raised the blind up to 50, and that the following person re-raised the bet to 140. Raises and reraises can occur at any time, and is the most important part of the game. Knowing when to bet, raise and fold is eveything in poker. My Q-10 would not be call-worthy in a cash game, but since this is playmoney and I wanted to try and win to show off, I stayed in. =)

Here is the raise and re-raise:

Community cards:

Now that everyone has recieved their two hole cards, and bet the pot up to their heart’s content, it is time to throw some more cards down. The method of doing so is referred to as “burn’em and turn’em”. The card on top of the deck is “burned” and discarded, never to be looked at or used. This occurs before both the flop, turn, and river. The next three cards are taken out and turned over for all to see in the middle of the table. These are the first of 5 total community cards. In Hold’em you can use all or none of the community cards to make your best 5 card hand. After the flop, a round of betting ensues before the turn.

Here is an example of a flop:

The Turn:

After another card is burned (the second in total), a fourth card is added to the community cards. This fourth card is referred to as “The Turn” or “Fourth Street”. Another round of betting ensues before the fifth and final card is added to the community cards.

In this example, there is a King and a set of 7’s on the board (communty cards). With three people in the hand and a nice size pot going, the odds are someone at least has a king, if not the fourth seven, so unless you have a king, the seven, or pocket aces to beat the King full house, now is the time to get out of the hand.

Here is the image:

The River:

The fifth and final community card also comes after a burned card (the third and final one), and is called either “The River” or “Fifth Street”. Once in play, it is time to size up you and your opponent’s hands and decide whether it is time to take part in this final round of betting.

When the betting is complete, if there is more than one person left in the hand, their hole cards are turned over and the winner is given the pot. If only one person remains due to a fold, then they only need to show their cards if they feel like it (most commonly done when showing off a bluff on a large pot to try and get your opponent on tilt), or otherwise they can Muck their cards which means they keep them face down while tossing them to the dealer.

In this example, both players had the king to give both the same fullhouse. Because of this, the tied the hand and split the pot equally. You can also see that one of them is displaying the “All-in” message, which means he pushed the last of his chips into the post during the hand.

Here is the image:

Conclusion:

I hope this helps in your understanding of the rules of Texas Hold’em. It is a rather straight-forward game that can be picked up after only watching a few hands. As with all forms of poker, the best way to learn is play.

I will cover the strategy of the game in a later post, but since everyone has their own way of thinking, it is best to get out there now and find your own. Get the family or friends in a friendly game, or hop online and learn with playmoney chips (which I do not recommend aside from learning the rules, as learning strategy is near impossible with the reckless play exhibited by people who play with playmoney).

Poker, Texas Hold’em, Texas Hold’em Rules, Hold’em Rules, Poker Rules

Full Tilt Bonus Code POKERKING is good for free money.