There are few things in this world I admit to doing well, but poker would have to be one of them. Lately, television broadcasts have brought the card game into the mainstream and shined a light on the world’s most popular poker variation: No Limit Texas Hold’em.
Coastal Point
Texas Hold’em has become the highlight of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the World Poker Tour, both of which are now being broadcast on a multitude of television channels, from The Gameshow Network to NBC. The main event of the WSOP has even made its way to ESPN, among their annual coverage of national math and spelling bees and the infamous hotdog eating contests.
I’m not declaring that I’m the Kobayashi of poker, nor am I attempting to persuade you as to what’s a sport and what isn’t. I’m not even writing this new column to train or teach you how to play. I’m simply aiming to enlighten you in the basics of one of the most exhilarating and exciting card games in the world — one that has managed to consume a significant part of my life over the past few years.
I won’t bore you with the history of game and all that, as it’s a solid bet that many of you won’t make it all the way through this column. Nonetheless, it should be mentioned that poker has helped create some of the richest people in the country and the world — though it definitely works both ways.
I consider luck a significant factor in poker, and many would argue that the game is nothing but. However, as Kenny Rogers told us, “You gotta know when to hold ’em,” and “know when to fold ’em,” and understanding the game is the first step to becoming a good player.
Without a doubt, you’re not going to be too successful if you can’t catch good cards, but with patience and practice comes experience, and with experience comes skill. Throw some chips in there, and before long, you could be cruising down the Vegas strip, living champagne dreams and caviar wishes. If nothing else, this column may help you understand what they’re talking about when you turn on the television in these upcoming weeks.
And, for those of you who already have the basics down, look forward in the near future to additional columns in which I’ll talk about more advanced play and the nuances of the game. We’ll let the beginners get up to speed first.
Poker basics for ‘the blind’
Each player plays with two cards, face-down, or “hole cards,” which only that player sees. Five community cards are dealt face-up on the table, or board; first, three cards (the flop), then the fourth (the turn) and the fifth (the river). These community cards are used in conjunction with the hole cards to make the best five-card poker hand possible for each player. Players commonly bet poker chips or money into a pot, which they attempt to win with the best hand or through bluffs.
In the opening hand, a player is named dealer, usually signified by a disk called “the button.” Before the hand is dealt, the player directly clockwise to the dealer is “little blind” or “small blind” and posts a small wager, usually half of the minimum bet. The player directly to the left of the “small blind” is the “big blind” and must put in a full small bet. Following the posts, the dealing begins.
It’s a bet
“No Limit” refers to limitless bets, where players can wager all their chips, if they wish. Other variations of poker may be limit or pot-limit restricted.
The first round of betting starts after everyone has received their hole cards. The player immediately clockwise from the big blind has the first option. He can either: (1) fold, or “muck” his hand, forfeit seeing any more of the community cards, (2) “call,” or match, the bet posted by the big blind, or (3) raise, match the big blind and make a larger bet. This continues around, clockwise, until each player folds, calls or raises. Each round of betting ends when players have all folded to or called the last raise made.
Note: If all players fold their hand, the player to make the last and largest bet wins the pot. If players fold before the flop comes out, the player in the big blind takes down the pot. (The player in the little blind would forfeit their posted chips).
After the first three cards “flop,” bets are made again, starting with the first person still in the hand, seated directly clockwise from the dealer button. If no raise is made, the player can “check,” or waive their option to bet on to the player to their left. (A “check” may show weakness but can also be used strategically against opponents who may underestimate the strength of your hand.)
When players check around, or any raises are called or folded to, the fourth card, or the “turn” comes out. Again, a round of betting ensues. The fifth and final card comes out, and the last round of betting takes place among players still in the hand, starting with the one directly to the left of the dealer.
If a final bet is called, the players left have a “showdown,” where those who called the last raised bet show their cards to determine the winning hand.
Blinds usually increase with time or sometimes with the number of hands played, to help speed up the pace of the game. In some cases — usually late in tournaments, with an increased level of the blinds — antes are also made, where each player at the table, regardless of their position in or around the blinds or button, must pay a forced bet prior to the cards being dealt. The antes are collected into the pot, and the winner of the hand takes them down, in addition to other bets made.
When a player bets the remainder of their chips, they are said to be “all in.” Sometimes, it’s a good feeling to go “all in.” Other times, it’s the worst.
After the pot is awarded, shuffle up and deal again, with the button and blinds moving clockwise to the next players. Bluffs are simply bets made when you don’t suspect you have the winning hand but believe you can make your opponent believe you do. The best of the best can make these bets with all the confidence in the world, and they can call down others’ bluffs with ease, but they, too, sometimes lose hands.
Note: In many variations of poker, one card is typically dealt face down prior to the flop, the turn and the river coming out. These are called “burn” cards and originated in casinos to help deter card-marking.
Give ’em a hand
On to the really important stuff. Now that you understand how the betting works, it would probably be useful to know what hands beat what. The following is the list you need to know, from strongest hand to weakest.
• Royal flush — The highest hand in poker is a royal flush, being an Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10 all in the same suit. These are very hard to come by. In fact, you are more likely to find Bob Bertram wearing something other than a Hawaiian shirt than you are to hit a royal flush. Yes, it’s that rare.
• Straight flush — Next is a straight flush — five cards in sequence, all sharing the same suit. An example would be a four, five, six, seven and eight of clubs. Essentially, a royal flush is simply a straight flush to the highest-ranked card, the ace. This is yet another difficult hand to come by, and it will usually beat you when you least expect it to be there.
• Four-of-a-kind — Four-of-a- kind is the next strongest hand. Commonly referred to as “quads,” a four-of-a-kind is just that — four cards of the same rank in each of the suits — spades, clubs, hearts and diamonds. Quads are most likely to occur when your hole cards are already paired, i.e. you have a better chance at having two Queens come out on the board when you are holding the other two than having three come out on the board when you only have one.
• Full house — Next comes a full house. This is when your five cards consist of three of the same rank and two others of another rank, made up of three-of-a-kind and a pair (see below). The strength of this hand is sorely underestimated by many players who rely on flushes and straights to win the majority of their hands. Also known as a “full boat” or simply, “a boat,” the full house is frequently read in the following manner: Q-Q-Q-5-5 is “Queens full of 5’s”; 4-4-4-A-A is “4’s full of Aces”; and J-J-J-9-9 is “Jacks full of 9’s.”
• Flush — Next in line is the flush. Ah, the flush — five cards of the same suit, in no particular order. It can be your best friend or your mortal enemy. Every so often, a player can hit his flush on the flop by matching the suit of the first three community cards with his hole cards, or sometimes he gets it on the turn.
More often than you’d think, though, it is the river that will make or break a player’s hand. If two players both share a flush, the one with the highest-ranked card in that suit wins the pot. In some cases, they may share the highest card or cards with one on the board. If necessary, the winner may be decided by the second-, third-, fourth- or fifth-highest card.
Note: In Texas Hold’em, a flush is only possible when at least three cards of the same suit are on the board, as each player has two of their own in their hands. Again, we’re making the best five-card hand. Be cautious of someone who may be waiting for that third or fourth club to fall. If one of every suit is on the board, known as a “rainbow,” no player can make a flush, no matter what suit their hole cards are.
• Straight — The straight is the next poker hand on the list. This hand is made up of five cards in succession but not of the same suit. In Texas Hold’em, aces, although the strongest card, can also be used as the starting, low-end of a 5-high straight (Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, often referred to as “the wheel”). The player with the highest card in the sequence wins the pot.
Keep in mind that you need five cards to complete a straight or a flush. Four-in-a-row or four of the same suit, even if they’re high cards, isn’t going to do anything for you.
• Three-of-a-kind – Three-of-a-kind is the next highest hand. Here, a player has three cards of the same rank and two unrelated side cards. Commonly known as “a set” or “trips,” this hand can be sneaky, as many players fail to anticipate others holding matching hole cards.
• Two pair — Ranked below a set is two pair — two cards of a matching rank, two other cards of a different matching rank, and a fifth card of a different value. When you hit two pair on the flop, there’s still a good number of hands that can beat yours, but all it takes is another of either of those two cards to give you a powerful full house.
• Pair — After two pair comes one pair, two cards of matching rank and three unrelated side cards. A player will make at least a pair almost 45 percent of the hands they play. Many players take the strength of a pair for granted. Think of what your opponents might be holding if all you have is a couple of 7’s.
• High card — The lowest hand in poker, called the “high card” is when your best five cards do not fall under any of the above categories. Don’t think by any means that this column on the basics is designed to tell you how you should play, but unless you are using the bluff to your advantage, you should fold this hand away.
The remaining card or cards that are not used as part of your best hand are called kickers. In the event of a straight, flush or full house, five cards are needed to complete those hands and, therefore, there are no kickers.
Say, for instance, you and an opponent each share a pair of aces. With those two cards aside, your next three cards in your five-card hand will be your kickers. The winner with the higher kicker would earn the chips.
Kickers may also be included in the event of ties with four of a kind, three of a kind, two pair or a high card. In the instance that the best five-card hands result in a tie (i.e. a 10-high straight where each player’s hole cards are 9-10), players will “chop” or split the pot.
It seems like a lot to get down, but once you’ve watched a couple hands, or try some out yourself, it comes pretty easy.
If you are interested in trying some poker yourself, it might not hurt to start up an account online. Several sites out there are free to log in to and offer “play chips,” which come at no expense to you. Once signed in to such a site, you can get a feel for the way the game is played.
Free online tournaments also offer players the chance to enter for nothing and potentially win real money. Know your limits, however, if you do decide to make a real-money deposit online or take your paycheck up to Atlantic City or out to Las Vegas.
Table talk
We’ve already talked about a lot of poker lingo that you may or may not have been familiar with until now, and believe me, there’s plenty more out there.
When waiting for one or two cards to complete a straight or a flush, a player is said to be “on the draw.”
Say for example, a player is holding a King and Jack of hearts, and the 2 and 6 of hearts and the 9 of spades comes out on the flop. That player is said to be “on a King-high flush draw,” meaning he doesn’t have a strong hand yet, but may catch it based on the resulting turn and river cards.
In the instance of a straight, a player may be holding the 6 of clubs and 7 of diamonds.
Let’s say the flop comes out Ace of hearts, 5 of spades and 8 of spades. That player could either use a 4 or 9 of any suit to complete their straight. This is known as an “open-ended” or “up-and-down” straight draw. If the player needs one card in the middle to make their straight, it’s “close-ended” or a “gut-shot” straight draw.
“The nuts” refer to the best possible hand a player can have in a certain situation, and can loosely be used to describe a very strong hand. If the board shows: QH 10H 6C 3S 9H, a player holding JH 8H would have “the nuts,” as the straight flush to the queen of hearts would be the highest possible hand.
Our next installment of “All In” will focus on starting hands, position and other techniques used by players in the world of poker. For now, take in what you’ve read. You’re one step closer to mastering the game.
Television coverage of the WSOP began July 22 on ESPN and will continue every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. Catch a few minutes, if you can, to help you learn the game.
There are also a number of books and magazines available that have to do with different styles and practices in the gambling lifestyle. Go pick one up. There’s plenty of other literature out there, written by people who have made a lot more money playing poker than I have… so far, at least.