This is a discussion on First time going to a casino within the online poker forums, in the Live Poker section; I have not yet been to a casino and played poker, just online. This weekend its my. The average live poker game is softer than its online counterpart. The barrier for entry is much lower and many recreational players overvalue their home game experience. Improving live casino poker play can be difficult but not impossible. Take a look at these 5 tips and learn how to play poker in a casino better. The theory is that poker is a much more modern game, established in the 18th century in the US along the Mississippi River to be exact. This area was a notorious and, celebrated haven for gamblers, so the assumptions made by holders of this theory are not without merit.
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The card game of poker has many variations, most of which were created in the United States in the mid-1900s. The standard order of play applies to most of these games, but to fully specify a poker game requires details about which hand values are used, the number of betting rounds, and exactly what cards are dealt and what other actions are taken between rounds.
1Popular poker variants
2Specific poker variant games
Popular poker variants[edit]
The three most popular poker variants are spread in casinos and poker rooms worldwide and can be divided into the following groups:
Draw poker: Games in which players are dealt a complete hand, hidden, and then improve it by replacing cards. The most common of these is five-card draw.
Stud poker: Games in which each player receives a combination of face-up cards and face-down cards in multiple betting rounds. The most common of these are five-card stud and seven-card stud. These two variants are further played in other different formats.
Community card poker: Games in which each player's incomplete hidden hand is combined with shared face-up cards. The most common of these are Texas hold 'em and Omaha hold 'em.
Here are more common rule variations:
Lowball: The lowest hand wins the pot. There are different rules about whether or not aces count as low, and the effects of straights and flushes. The most common variants are Razz and 2-7 Triple Draw
High-low split: the highest and lowest hands split the pot. Generally there is a qualifier for the low hand. For example, the low hand must have 5 cards with ranks of 8 or less. In most high-low games the usual rank of poker hands is observed, so that an unsuited broken straight (7-5-4-3-2) wins low (see Morehead, Official Rules of Card Games). In a variant, based on Lowball, where only the low hand wins, a straight or a flush does not matter for a low hand. So the best low hand is 5-4-3-2-A, suited or not.
Players can pass cards to each other. An example of this would be Anaconda.
Kill game: When a fixed limit game is played and a player wins two pots in a row, the stakes are doubled. In some split-pot games, a player winning both halves of the pot may also cause a kill. In some variants of Lowball, a player may choose to kill by placing a double bet after seeing his first two cards.
Wild cards are added. This can range from simply making deuces wild to the 7-card stud variant named baseball.
A twist round in which players can buy another card from the deck. If a player does not like the purchased card, the player can purchase another one by adding money to the pot. This is sometimes called a 'tittle.'
A stripped deck may be used. Poker was first played with only 20 cards. In the spirit of poker history, players will sometimes only play with a stripped deck. A popular poker game in Spain is played with cards 8-A. It is played similar to hold'em, except that one card is dealt at a time and a player must use both hole cards.
Roll your own is played in stud games, and allows the player to determine which of his or her cards are turned up and visible to the other players. In a game like Seven-card Stud, the 'roll' action only applies to the first 3 cards, all of which are dealt face down. Each player then determines which card to expose. Play then continues as with regular Seven-card Stud. But a game like Mexican stud applies the roll option throughout the game. Two cards are dealt face down, and the players roll one card up. The game continues just as in Five-card Stud, except the cards are dealt face down, and each player then decides which of the two down cards is exposed.[1]
Mixed poker games[edit]
Poker can be played in a mixed game format, for example one half-hour of Texas hold 'em followed by one half-hour of Seven-card stud. There are many types of mixed poker games. The most notable mixed poker variation is H.O.R.S.E. poker. H.O.R.S.E. is a mix of Texas hold 'em, Omaha high-low, Razz, Seven-card stud and Seven-card stud Eight-or-better. Each game will usually be played for a fixed number of hands or time and then the players will move on to the next game.
Other mixed games include:
H.O.S.E. – same as H.O.R.S.E., except without Razz.
H.O.E. – same as H.O.R.S.E, except no Razz or Seven-card stud.
H.O. – Texas hold 'em and Omaha high-low
O.E. – Omaha high-low and Seven-card Stud Eight or better.
H.A. – Pot limit Texas hold 'em and pot limit Omaha.
Omaha High-low Mixed – Fixed limit Omaha and pot limit Omaha high-low
Holdem Mixed – Fixed limit and no limit Texas hold 'em.
Eight Game Mix – Fixed limit 2-7 Triple Draw, fixed limit Texas hold 'em, fixed limit Omaha Hi-Low Eight or better, Razz, fixed limit Seven-card stud, fixed limit Seven-card stud Hi-Low eight or better, no limit Texas hold 'em and pot limit Omaha.
Ten Game Mix (introduced at 2011 World Series of Poker) – No limit Hold'em, fixed limit Seven-card Razz, fixed limit Hold'em, fixed limit Badugi, fixed limit Seven-card Stud, no limit 2-7 Single Draw, fixed limit Omaha Hi-Low eight or better, pot limit Omaha, fixed limit 2-7 Triple Draw and fixed limit Seven-card stud Hi-Low eight or better (played with 6 players on a table).
Specific poker variant games[edit]
Some poker games don't fit neatly into the above categories, and some have features of more than one of these categories. These variants are most often played in home games, usually as part of a dealer's choice format.
High Chicago or Low Chicago[edit]
Either of these two versions can be played in any stud high game. In High Chicago, or sometimes simply called Chicago, the player with the highest spade face down (referred to as in the hole) receives half the pot. In Low Chicago, the player with the lowest spade in the hole receives half of the pot, with the A♠ being the lowest. If the player with the highest hand also has the highest/lowest spade in the hole, then that player receives the entire pot - having won both sides of the bet.
Follow the Queen[edit]
This 7-card stud game uses a wild-card designated as whichever card is immediately dealt (exposed, or face-up) after any queen previously dealt (exposed). In the event that the final card dealt (exposed) is itself a queen, then all queens are wild. If no queens are dealt (exposed), then there are no wilds for that hand. Betting is the same as in normal 7-card stud games. Follow the Queen is a typical game variant in Dealer's Choice poker games.[2][3]
Countdown[edit]
In this 5-card game, the dealer gives each player 5 cards face down. After the first round of betting, each player may choose to replace zero to three cards. A second round of betting follows and then players may opt to replace zero to two cards. Upon completing another round of betting, each player may replace one card of the cards in their hand. After a final round of betting, any remaining players show their hands, and the highest 5 card hand wins. The cost of cards doubles each round. For example, if the dealer says each replacement card costs $10 in the first round, then each card costs $20 in the second round, and $40 in the final round. When players purchase cards to replace ones in their hand, they put the cost of the cards in the pot.[4]
This game will only work with 4 players (or fewer) otherwise you will run out of cards.
Billabong and Shanghai[edit]
Just as Oxford stud is a mixed stud/community card version of Texas hold 'em, Billabong is a mixed version of Manila. Each player is dealt two down-cards and one up-card. Low up-card starts the betting with a Bring-in if you are playing with one, otherwise high card starts the betting. Next, two community cards are dealt, followed by a second betting round, beginning with the player with the best exposed partial poker hand (counting the community cards, as in Oxford stud). Then a third community card is dealt, followed by a third betting round. Finally a fourth community card is dealt, followed by a fourth betting round and showdown. Each player plays the best five-card hand he can make from the three in his hand plus the four on the board in any combination.
Shanghai is the same game with an extra hole card, but no more than two hole cards play. That is, the game begins with each player being dealt three down-cards and one up-card; each player must discard one of his hole cards at some point during the game as determined ahead of time. The most common variation is to discard immediately as in Pineapple; the second most common is to discard just before showdown as in Tahoe.
Guts[edit]
Guts is a family of games that are cousins of poker rather than poker variants. They usually involve hands of 3 or fewer cards, ranked similarly to hands in poker, and multiple successive rounds of betting each of which consist of the decision to be 'in' or 'out', and each with its own showdown. The losers of rounds of guts generally match or double the pot, which grows rapidly.
Five-O poker[edit]
Five-O Poker is a heads-up poker variant in which both players must play five hands of five cards simultaneously. Four of the five cards in each hand are face-up. Once all five hands are down, there is a single round of betting. The winner is determined by matching each hand to the corresponding hand of the opponent. The player with the stronger poker hand in three (or more) out of the five columns, wins, unless a player folds on a bet that was made. If a player beats their opponent with all five hands, this is called a “Five-O” win.
Chinese poker[edit]
Chinese poker is a 2-4 player poker game with thirteen cards. The idea is to make three poker hands with increasing rank : two with five cards and one with three cards. If one of the hands does not adhere to increasing rank (i.e. is mis-set), the hand is declared dead and results in some sort of penalty.
Kuhn poker[edit]
Kuhn poker, using a three card deck, is more of game theory problem than an actual game people play, but it can be played by two players.[5]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
^Pagat.com: Roll Your Own
^Pokernews.com: Fun Home Poker Game Rules - Follow the Queen
^Pokerrules.net: How to Play Follow the Queen
^Pokerrules.net: How to Play Countdown Poker
^'A Parameterized Family of Equilibrium Profiles for Three-Player Kuhn Poker'(PDF).
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_poker_variants&oldid=929080044'
Everyone knows by now (surely) that even though poker is a game of chance, it’s also a game of skill. This means that if you go to play poker at the casino for the first time without any knowledge or strategy, you’re probably going to lose a lot of money. You might get lucky and win, but chances are you won’t.
Luckily, the basics of breaking even or winning at poker aren’t as hard as most people might think. In fact, you can probably play better than 50% of the players at the table after just reading a few blog posts and practicing a little bit online. Read a few books and do some serious thinking, and you might even be better than 75% of the players.
But to be a consistently winning player requires a lot of skill and self-discipline. Only 10% of poker players profit consistently, which means 90% of players lose money in the long run.
It’s okay to lose money in the long run playing poker, but it’s a lot more fun to win, even if it’s only occasionally.
The purpose of this post is to give you enough advice about playing poker for the first time in the casino that you have a chance of coming home with some money.
The First Thing You Should Do to Prepare Is Memorize the Standard Ranking of Poker Hands
In most casinos, the name of the game is Texas holdem. But no matter which casino poker game you play, understanding the rankings of the hands is integral to having some fun at the table. Many people know these already, but if you don’t, review them and memorize them.
Understanding how a deck of cards works comes first, too. The cards in a standard 52-card deck each have 2 characteristics:
A suit
A rank
There are 4 suits:
Clubs
Diamonds
Hearts
Spades
And there are 13 ranks:
Ace
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Jack
Queen
King
The ace, by the way, is the highest card in the deck, so it’s almost like having 2 cards instead of one. It can be counted as a 1 or as the top end of a straight. A pair of aces outranks a pair of kings, for example. But it can also complete an A2345 straight.
Poker hands are almost always made up of 5 cards. The suits and rankings of those cards determine the best possible hand it qualifies for. These hands, from best to worst, are:
Straight Flush – These are 5 cards of consecutive rank that are all the same suit. Some writers list a “royal flush” as the top hand in the rankings, but that’s not entirely accurate. A royal flush is just the best possible straight flush you can have—one with an ace as its high card—10JQKA.
4 of a Kind – This is a hand where you have 4 cards of the same rank and a 5th card of another rank.
Full House – This is a hand where you have 3 cards of one rank and 2 cards of another rank. A full house is the same thing as having a 3 of a kind and a pair in the same hand.
Flush – This is a hand where you have 5 cards of the same suit. Their rankings don’t matter unless you’re tied with another flush, in which case the highest card determines the winning hand.
Straight – This is a hand where you have 5 cards of consecutive ranks, like 45678. The suit doesn’t matter, unless all the cards are of the same suit—in which case you have a straight flush.
3 of a Kind – This is a hand where you have 3 cards of one rank and 2 other cards of 2 different ranks.
2 Pairs – This is a hand where you have 2 cards of one rank, 2 cards of another rank, and another card of yet another rank.
Pair – This is a hand where you have 2 cards of the same rank and 3 other cards, all of different ranks.
Nothing – In this case, the highest card in your hand determines its strength.
A couple of rules of thumb apply to ties. The highest card determines the winner in a tie. If you have a straight flush, and so does your opponent, the hand with the highest high card wins the pot.
If 2 players have a 4 of a kind, the person with the higher ranked 4 of a kind wins.
If 2 players have a full house, the person with the higher ranked 3 of a kind wins.
With a flush and a straight, the highest card in the hand determines the winner of a tie.
With a 3 of a kind, the winner is determined by the rank of the cards in the 3 of a kind.
With 2 pairs, the higher ranked pair is compared. If there’s still a tie, the lower ranked pair is compared. If there’s STILL a tie, the kicker (the 5th card) is compared.
With a pair, the ranks of the pair are compared first. If it’s still a tie, it goes by kicker, of which there are 3.
When playing poker in a casino, the usual rule is “cards speak.” In other words, the cards speak for themselves, even if you’re mistaken about the strength of your hand. You don’t have to claim the right best hand to win.
Generalities About How Poker Games Play Out
All poker games follow certain standards for how the game plays out. These have to do with how the cards are dealt and the betting. Who does what when is an important aspect of poker, regardless of which variation you’re playing.
Here’s an example of a poker gameplay procedure you need to be aware of:
When you make a raise, you need to announce it immediately. You don’t say, “I call AND raise.” You don’t put the amount of the bet out there and add to it. You announce, “Raise.” Then you put the chips out there.
Doing otherwise is a big violation of protocol called “string-raising.” The reason it’s a problem is because players will watch their opponents’ reaction and change what they’re doing because of it. That’s a strict no-no.
I bring that up first because it’s one of the first (of many) embarrassing mistakes I’ve made at the poker table.
The dealing of the cards and the betting order are important, and they’re determined by the specific rules of the game. Usually the first person to bet or to get cards is the deciding factor, but after that, the cards are dealt in order clockwise around the table. The betting action also takes place clockwise around the table.
You always act before the player on your left and after the player on your right—unless you’re the first person to act.
In 7 card stud, the player with the highest visible hand bets first. In Texas holdem, the first player to the left of the dealer button acts first.
You should also never just toss your chips at the pot. You move the chips in front of you past the line on the table that puts the money in the pot.
As a matter of etiquette, decide what you’re going to do quickly. Don’t hold up the game and make the other players wait a long time while you make your decision. You don’t have to feel rushed, but it’s not fair to anyone to delay the game just because you’re indecisive.
You should also leave your cards on the table. You can pick them up to look at them, but don’t move them far. The casino wants to avoid even the appearance of possible cheating.
It’s considered extremely rude to talk about what cards you had after you’ve folded. It gives the players who are still in the hand information they shouldn’t have when deciding what to do next.
Finally, consider giving the dealer a tip after winning a big hand. The dealers pool their tips at the end of the shift at most casinos, so don’t stiff the dealer just because she’s been rude. In fact, if a dealer is rude enough that you would consider stiffing him on the tip, consider discussing his behavior with a manager instead.
I once played in a cardroom in Vegas, I forget which one, where I had a surly old Russian dealer. At one point I raised and said, “Carpe diem.”
The surly old Russian told me, “English only at the table, sir.”
I smiled and said, “Sorry. ‘Carpe diem’ means ‘seize the day.”
He replies, still scowling, “I KNOW what it means, sir. You could be signaling another player by talking in a foreign language, though.”
I replied, “Couldn’t saying ‘seize the day’ also be a signal?”
He was angry.
When I related this story to a professional poker playing acquaintance of mine, he said I should have called over the cardroom manager and complained loudly. I think he might have been right, because if a foreign phrase is so commonly used in English that everyone knows what it means, I think it might as well be considered English.
Start by Learning How to Play Texas Holdem
If you’re new to playing poker in the casino, the best game to start with is Texas holdem because that’s where most of the action is. Your goal is to win the pot, either by getting all the other players to fold, or by making the best 5 card hand at the showdown. In Texas holdem, you only get 2 cards for yourself. The other 5 cards in the game are community cards in the center of the table; the other players use those 5 cards to form their hands, too.
One player is the dealer, but this is only for purposes of determining who does what when. He doesn’t actually deal the cards—the casino has a dealer for that. His position is signified by a plastic white disk with the word “dealer” printed on it.
The 2 players to the left of the dealer must place bets called “blinds” before the cards are dealt. These are similar to an ante bet in other kinds of poker, but the difference is that not everyone has to place these bets every hand. The dealer disk rotates around the table clockwise after every hand. So the people who must pay the blinds rotates with that disk.
Everyone gets 2 cards (“the hole cards”) to start. This is followed by a round of betting. The first person to bet is the player to the left of the blinds. He can bet, check, fold, or raise.
After the betting action, the dealer deals 3 cards to the middle of the table (“the flop”). This is followed by another round of betting, but this time, the first player to the left of the dealer bets. This is the order in which the betting takes place for the rest of the game.
After this round of betting, another card is dealt (“the turn”). The betting after this round goes in the same order, but the minimum bet doubles on this round.
The final card is the “river.” It’s followed by one more round of betting, with the same minimum that you had on the turn.
The sizing of the bets is another factor to consider when getting into a Texas holdem game. There are 3 ways in which this works:
Limit
Pot limit
No limit
In a limit Texas holdem game, the sizes of the bets must be made in specific increments. For example, in a $4/$8 game, the bets and raises must be in units of $4 before and on the flop, and in units of $8 on the turn and on the river.
In a pot limit game, you still have a minimum size bet, but you can also bet or raise any amount up to the amount of money in the pot.
In a no limit game, you also still have a minimum bet size, but you can bet or raise any amount up to the entire stack of chips you have in front of you at the table.
The Basics of Breaking Even at Texas Holdem
The basic strategy for winning at poker is to be selective about which hands you choose to play. Then, when you do play a hand, you play it aggressively. This means betting and raising when you’re involved in a hand.
In Texas holdem, if you master preflop strategy, you can break even. Winning at Texas holdem requires good play in the later rounds, too, but breaking even can happen just by mastering your strategy preflop.
This requires an understanding of the kinds of 2-card hands you can start with:
Pairs – Preflop, most pairs are playable, but the higher the ranking of the pair, the stronger your hand is by far. In fact, low pairs, like 2s or 3s, are barely playable. The best possible starting hand in Texas holdem is a pair of aces, followed closely by a pair of kings. You should raise with high-ranked pairs preflop (or bet). As your pairs go down in ranking, so do their values, so you might get more cautious and pay attention to how the other players are playing their hands when deciding what to do. With lower-ranked pairs, you’re hoping to hit 3 of a king on the flop.
Suited Connectors – These are cards that are close in rank and of the same suit. They provide multiple opportunities to win after the flop. For example, if you have an AK of the same suit, you could wind up with a pair of kings and an ace kicker after the flop, or you could wind up with a pair of aces and a king kicker. You also have the potential to land a straight, a flush, or 3 or 4 cards to a draw to a straight or flush.
The rule of thumb with suited connectors is that the higher the ranking is, the stronger the hand is. That’s because the pair potential increases.
Also, suited connectors don’t have to be immediately adjacent to qualify as suited connectors. They can have gaps. The bigger the gaps are, the weaker the hand is. For example, if you have a queen and an 8 of the same suit, you have 3 gaps, but you still have the possibility of making a hand.
Big Little Suited – If you have an ace or a king along with a much lower-ranked card of the same suit, you have a playable hand, but it’s pretty speculative. The higher the ranking of the lower card, the stronger the hand is preflop. If you catch a couple of suited cards on the flop, you have a flush draw, which means you have the possibility of a semi-bluff.
Ace King and Ace Queen Offsuit – These hands get their strength from being really high cards that are also connected—you have straight possibilities here.
But just knowing the relative values of the starting hands isn’t enough. You also need to understand what to do with them, and a lot of this is based on your position and the behavior of the other players in the game.
The rule of thumb is that the earlier you act, the stronger your hand must be to be playable. A pair of aces is playable from any position, but a pair of 2s or 3s is an easy fold if you’re first to act. On the other hand, if you’re the last person to act, and if everyone has checked before you, betting and raising with a low pair can be a smart move.
Beginners to Texas holdem often try to bluff too often, especially preflop. My experience with lower stakes holdem in live casinos is that players are all too willing to call anything with any hand. I’ve rarely won a hand without a showdown playing Texas holdem at the Winstar, for example. They call it “no foldem holdem.”
If you are going to try to win a pot with a bluff preflop, be sure you’re only facing one or 2 opponents. Also, pay attention to your opponents’ playing tendencies. If you’re playing with someone you know won’t fold, don’t even try to bluff your way into a pot.
Understanding how to play after the flop is also an important skill, and it’s not as hard as you think, either. Just remember this when deciding how to play your hand on the flop:
Fit or fold.
In other words, the flop should improve your hand or fit well with your hand. Otherwise, you might have to fold. I’ve seen estimates that you should only stay in the hand about 50% of the time.
In a lot of weaker games, having the highest possible pair with a good kicker is all you need to stay in the hand. If you have a smaller pair, you’re really hoping to hit at least 3 of a kind on the flop before staying in. With connected or suited cards, you’re hoping at the least for 4 cards to a flush or straight. In that situation, you’re even better off if you have other possibilities, too—like a small pair along with a 4-card draw to a straight or a flush.
Conclusion
Playing poker in a casino for the first time can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Do a little homework before the big day. Know the standard rankings of poker hands backwards and forward. Pay attention to the order of what happens.
If you get stuck, don’t be afraid to look like a novice and ask the dealer for help with what you’re supposed to do. You can’t ask for strategy advice, but basic procedural questions are fair game.
It helps to read a book or 2 about the game you’re going to be playing. It also helps to have a reasonably big bankroll. Scared money always loses. If you can try some online games to get an idea of how the action goes, that’s probably the best preparation of all.
Once you’ve tried live poker, you’ll probably love it, though. Good luck at the casino.
Casino Poker Games List
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