 
### Table of Contents

Title Page

Preface

Dedication

Chapter 1 - Conversational Pokerish

Section 1.1 Fixed Limit Texas Hold'em 101

Section 1.2 - Introduction to Pokerish

Section 1.3 - Dialog Before the Flop

Section 1.4 - Dialog After the Flop

Section 1.5 - Dialog After the Turn

Section 1.6 - Dialog After the River

Section 1.7 - Pokerish Gestures

Chapter 2 - Pokerish Savvy

Section 2.1 - Pokerish Prohibitions

Section 2.2 - Table Manners

Section 2.3 - After the Fat Lady Sings

Section 2.4 - Kill Pots, Overs Buttons & Straddles

Section 2.5 - Jackpots and Promotions

Chapter 3 - Pokerish Tournaments

Section 3.1 - Tournament Play

Section 3.2 - Re-buys, Add-ons & Re-entries

Section 3.3 - Satellite Tournaments

Section 3.4 - Other Tournaments

Section 3.5 - Awarding the Prizes

Chapter 4 - Private Pokerish

Section 4.1 - Setting Limits and Structure

Section 4.2 - Recommended Games

Section 4.3 - Location and Libations

Section 4.4 - Pokerish for Four or Less

Chapter 5 - Pokerish Glossary

Conclusion

About the Author

#

# Pokerish: The Language and Logic of Poker

# Terry Eade

Copyright 2014 Terry Eade

Smashwords Edition

ISBN 9781311696441

#

# Preface to Pokerish

Sitting down at a poker table is like visiting a foreign country. If you don't understand the language, protocol, nuances, rules, and customs you are at a definite disadvantage. You will not only feel out-of-place and self-conscious, your bankroll will be at the mercy of those who know what they are doing and how to take advantage of your inability to understand what is going on and being communicated at your table. These important factors change the game's dynamics and greatly impact your winning edge in this negative sum game.

The term "Pokerish" is one I have coined to represent both a language and a culture which defines the game of poker around the world. Just as English, Spanish, Swedish, Danish and Turkish represent distinct languages and cultures, Pokerish represents a unique language and culture for the game of poker. Poker played in the real world is impacted by house rakes, jackpot drops, tips and the way players change their play based on various promotions, and variations, offered by casinos. So you need to adjust your game to gain a winning edge wherever and whenever you play.

When I studied algebra as a high school freshman, it was just an academic exercise and my objective was just to remember enough to do the homework assignments and pass the tests. In fact my overall objective in high school was just to keep my grades high enough to allow me to play sports. It was not until I studied physics in college that algebra became of any practical use. Later when I wrote my Ph.D. dissertation, I used algebraic equations to quantify economic relationships by creating and utilizing over a hundred complex econometric models. Had I known there was some practical use for algebra, I would not have used the "catch and release" attitude that I did back in high school.

So when I taught management and finance to college students, I was able to utilize specific examples from my own experience as a manager and financial officer to punctuate the points that were vital to understanding the subject at hand. This was an advantage I had over the professors who had just studied these subjects academically and had not experienced them in the real world with all the attendant specifics, ramifications and complications.

In this book you will find numerous real world examples that I have experienced first hand over many years of playing poker in all types of environments. After each example, or series of examples, the point being made will be specifically identified. Hopefully this will give you an empirical example of the importance of the lesson being addressed, so you will not have to learn the lesson the hard (and expensive) way.

Consider this a tour book and a survival guide in the real world of poker so that you are not treated or deceived like a tourist in this environment. This survival guide will give you insight into the various venues of poker you may wish to visit. It is hoped that this tour book and survival guide will encourage new or casual poker players to visit a casino, public, or online poker room and discover a new, enjoyable, and perhaps lucrative pastime.

This book, and the second book of the Pokerish series, are also a window into the Pokerish community in general and highlight the interesting and humorous things which happen in that community. So in addition to giving new skills and insights to the newer poker players it provides an enjoyable book for those who have played the game for years and will appreciate the stories and examples provided.

The chapters of this book are:

**Chapter 1 - Conversational Pokerish.** This chapter covers what is meant by the various hold'em betting actions and gestures. The objective will be to provide you the tools you need to decipher dialog and gain information about the strength of your opponents' hands, understand their intentions, and be able to take advantage of that information.

**Chapter 2 - Pokerish Savvy.** This chapter focuses on the prohibitions, protocol, play and promotions in hold'em at a casino poker room or a licensed public card room. Once you have read this chapter you should feel at home in any casino poker room regardless of the location and the game.

**Chapter 3 - Pokerish Tournaments.** This chapter will focus on the major distinctions between cash games and tournament play. This covers the structure, dialog and strategy of tournament play, especially in no limit Texas hold'em.

**Chapter 4 - Private Pokerish.** This chapter delves into the realm of private games in clubs and home games. Compares the objectives and logistics of private games. Provides information for those who wish to host a private game or start a regular poker group.

**Chapter 5 - Pokerish Glossary.** This final chapter lists some of the terms and phrases used in the Pokerish community. Although this is not an exhaustive listing, it will give you a good start on your Pokerish vocabulary.

#

# Dedication

## I would like to dedicate this book to my wonderful wife Sharon. She has been at my side for the entire twenty-five years I have been playing poker in casinos and poker rooms. During that time she not only had to cling to her cat & iPad to compensate for the absence of her resident hunk, but then she had to endure my bad beat stories and other tales from the felt when I returned from those poker skirmishes as a winner or wounded and weary.

## Not only is she a great wife, she is also a talented seven card stud and Texas hold'em player. In one evening of playing Texas hold'em we both won enough money to pay for our annual golf passes at one of the best golf courses in the Northwest. Several years ago she decided to take her winnings and invest them in jewelry. Since that time she has played only occasionally.

## Because of her expertise at poker as well as her experience as an executive secretary, she has been very helpful with the material in this book as well as its grammar, punctuation and style.

Sharon Eade, Author's Wife

# Chapter 1

# Conversational Pokerish

In this chapter we will look at the dialogue at a fixed limit, Texas hold'em poker table and provide you with an insight into what each check, bet, raise, re-raise, check-raise, and fold is likely to mean by various types of players in various positions. Since this chapter deals with the betting dialog it is equally applicable to both live and online games.

Although it would be impossible to categorize every possible motive for a particular action by a wide variety of players, this chapter will attempt to cover as many of these motives as possible. It also represents what good poker players are saying and thinking. If a player is new, distracted, inebriated, maniacal, or "on tilt" they will be much more difficult to read and understand.

**Section 1.1** is dedicated to explaining how Texas hold'em is played. Even if you are familiar with how this game is played this will be a good review. There are also a couple of paragraphs that explain some poker basics common to all poker games.

**Section 1.2** is an introduction to the Pokerish language so you will know how the language lessons will be addressed and how to put them in context so that you get and give the right messages at the poker table.

**Section 1.3** will introduce you to the dialog which happens after the cards are dealt, but before the flop. Although this dialog is less important than it will be on later streets of betting, it will give you the first clue as to what you are up against for the rest of the hand.

**Section 1.4** covers the dialog which occurs after the three card flop has been divulged. Because the previous betting level was at the lower tier of betting, many players will stay until the flop has been revealed, since they get to see three cards for one low price.

**Section 1.5** addresses the dialog which takes place after the single turn card has been placed on the board. Since this street will be bet at a betting tier level which is twice that which was required before and after the flop, the conversation at this point gets more serious and expensive.

**Section 1.6** talks about the dialog which transpires after the single river card is revealed. As this is the last betting round, it is where the rubber meets the road. It is also where the final traps are sprung and where those draws that missed are turned into bluffs in a last desperate attempt to win the pot.

**Section 1.7** reveals those gestures which are used at the poker table in lieu of verbal comments. As indicated in this section, using gestures can convey everything which is necessary to address the dialog on all streets of betting.

## Section 1.1

# Fixed Limit Texas Hold'em 101

This section is dedicated to explaining the basics of fixed limit Texas hold'em. Although many of you probably know most of the information presented here, it will be good for you to review this section so everyone has the same basic understanding. Also for the sake of simplicity, the betting regiments for a four-eight hold'em game will be used. However, for those who are not only new to Texas hold'em but to poker as well, the two paragraphs below will explain a few of the basics common to all poker games, including those which have a low hand component.

##### Poker Basics

The winning hand in all poker games is determined by a five-card hand, regardless of how many cards a player has to make their best five-card hand. The value of poker hands from low to high are: highest cards, one pair, two pair, three-of-a-kind, straight, flush, full house, four-of-a-kind, straight flush, and royal flush. The glossary of this book will explain each of those hands. The ranking of cards from low to high are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, T, J, Q, K, and A. The T-J-Q-K-A stand for ten, jack, queen, king, and ace. If more than one player has two pair, the highest pair determines the winner. If two players have the same top pair, the rank of the second pair determines the winner. If two players have the same hand, which does not use all five cards, then the highest kicker or kickers in the five-card hand will determine the winner. The highest cards in the straight or flush determine the winner when more than one player has a straight or a flush. If more than one player has a full house, the rank of the three-of-a-kind and then the rank of the pair determines the winner.

For low only and split pot games, the low hand would be the lowest five unique cards in the five-card hand, where an ace is the lowest card. The winning hand will be the one with the lowest high card in the hand. If more than one hand has the lowest high card, then the next lowest high card comes into play. Thus, a player with an 8-6 would beat a player with an 8-7, and both would be beaten by a player with an 8-5 as the lowest high cards in their five-card hand. This logic would be used down to the last card if necessary to determine the lowest hand. The lowest possible hand would be a 5-4-3-2-A bicycle straight. Most split pot games require a low hand to be eight and below. Also in split pot games the player does not have to use the same five cards for their best low hand that they use for their best high hand.

### The Button

Texas Hold'em is a high only game played with a maximum of ten players to a table, although most casino poker rooms will have a maximum of nine players to a table. If the game is just starting, the dealer will turn up a card to represent each players position. The largest card (rank & suit) will determine the initial placement of the dealer button. The button designates the virtual dealer for that hand. After each hand the dealer will move the button one player to the left.

### The Blinds

The player to the immediate left of the dealer button posts the small blind, which is half of the full bet at the lower tier. The player to the immediate left of the small blind posts the big blind. In a four-eight game this would amount to a $2 small blind and a $4 big blind.

###

### The Holdings

Once the blinds have been posted, the dealer will deal twice around the table clockwise starting with the small blind so that each player has two down (hole) cards. These two cards are the players unique "holding". The player to the immediate left of the big blind is first to act and can either fold, call the $4 bet or raise the bet to $8. Play moves to the left with each player allowed to raise the last bet by $4 up to a limit of three raises. The small and large blinds are live and these players have the option of folding, calling, or raising on the first round of betting. So even if the other players have just called the blind amount, either of the blinds can raise the initial $4 bet on the first round of betting.

On all subsequent betting rounds (streets), betting starts with the small blind and ends with the player with the dealer button. The player to the left of the big blind has the option to post a live straddle before any cards are dealt. The live straddle is twice the size of the big blind and is considered to be a bet and not a raise.

### The Flop

After the initial betting round has been completed, the dealer will burn the top card and then deal three cards face up in the center of the table. These three cards are called the "flop". These community cards can be used by all players and combined with their unique two down cards to form a five card poker hand. Action then starts with the small blind who may check or bet a maximum of $4. Play continues clockwise around to the button with each player either checking or betting. Once there is a bet a player must either fold, call, or raise the bet on the same $4 limit that was used in the pre-flop round.

### The Turn

Once the betting round has been completed after the flop, the dealer will burn a card and then deal a fourth card up on the board. This card is called the "turn". The players can use any combination of the six cards they have available to make their best five card poker hand. The betting round is completed the same way it was after the flop except that the bets and raises are now doubled to $8.

### The River

Following the betting round on the turn, the dealer burns a card and deals a fifth card face up on the board. This card is called the "river" and is the final card dealt. The betting round is the same as on the turn in increments of $8.

As soon as the betting round has been completed after the river, the dealer will instruct the players to expose their holding to see the best hand, which will win all the money in the pot. The player who made the last bet or raise will be the first to expose their hand. At that point the players who called the last bet or raise may either turn their hand up or surrender their hole cards face down and not contest the better hand.

### The Pot

At the completion of the hand, the dealer will push the pot to the winner and move the dealer button one player to the left and start the next hand. If two or more players have the same hand, the dealer will split the chips between all the players with winning hands and give any extra chips to those players to the left of the button. In some cases the hand on the board will be higher than any hand a player can produce and the chips will be split between all the players still in the hand.

When a player folds they submit their two card holding to the dealer face down. The dealer will then rake those cards into the "muck" at which point the folding player's hand is dead. Players are not allowed to turn their cards face up when they fold unless they are heads-up with the bettor and their folding ends the hand. Players are also not allowed to verbally disclose the cards they have folded until the hand is over.

###

### Betting Order

All action is done in turn with each player not acting until the active player to their immediate right has acted. If a player wishes to raise, they must verbally announce their intention to raise or put the necessary chips for the raise all in at the same time. Putting in calling chips and then putting in the raise chips separately is considered a "string bet" and may void the raise if called by an active player. Also announcing "I call your bet and raise" is only allowed in old western movies and considered to be just a call.

Make sure that you watch the action and are confident that all players have acted before you. If the player to your right acts out of turn you may divulge your action prematurely and change the way the hand plays out.

### Betting Limits

As explained earlier in this section, conventional hold'em play is for a big blind which is a full bet at the lower tier level and the small blind for half that amount. The betting tiers are also structured so that the betting limits before and after the flop are at the lower tier level and the betting limits on the turn and the river are twice that of the lower tier bets.

However, some card rooms will have different blind and betting tier structures. In one casino poker room I play at they just have a $4 big blind and no small blind. In one Las Vegas casino where I played they had a $1 small blind and a $2 big blind, but would allow a bet of from $2 to $6 from before the flop until after the river. Another casino had a $2 small blind and $4 big blind for their 4-8 hold-em game, but would allow a $10 bet or raise on any street.

As mentioned earlier in this section, most poker rooms allow a bet and three raises. However, if the play gets down to heads-up there is no cap on the number of raises allowed. The three bet maximum is there to keep a player from being caught between two raisers and be forced to bet more than they wish. If there are only two players left in the hand either player can stop the raising at any time by just calling.

Progressive straddles, button straddles, kill pots, overs buttons, jackpots and other promotions, which may effect the normal play, will be explained later in chapter 2.

## Section 1.2

# Introduction to Pokerish

Over the years I have noticed that if you listen to the dialog of what the players are saying with their checks, bets, and raises, you could get a pretty good idea of what they were holding and what their strategy for that hand would probably be. Of course that information needs to be put in context with information about their style of play, their position at the table, who they are up against, the money in the pot, and their credibility.

This chapter is focused on the cash game player at a fixed limit, low limit, Texas hold'em table of nine or ten players. This type of game is sometimes called "no fold'em hold'em", since it is not uncommon to have players call bets and raises with very weak hands, especially if they already have any money invested in the pot. While the language, protocol, and customs in play here are similar to other poker games and other limits, it is most applicable to these specific games.

##### Becoming Fluent in Pokerish

While most other approaches to communication are directed to developing a good recourse, Pokerish is directed at understanding the language being spoken by your adversaries and distorting their understanding about your actual holding and intentions. Your mother may have told you that it is much better to give than to receive, but in poker it is much better to receive than to give, whether you are talking about information or money. You want to be able to understand what the other players are saying to you without giving too much information back to them. That is not to say that you should not be able to speak as well as to understand the language. You may want to communicate your message to give a misleading account of the strength of your hand and your intentions for the rest of the hand.

There are plenty of poker books explaining what cards to play in various positions, against various styles of play, and how to play short handed as well as at full tables. These books explain pot odds, bankroll management, and betting regiments which will help you maximize your winnings. While this book will touch on these subjects, its primary purpose is to provide you with some unique tools to bolster both your defensive and offensive play. Although there will be snippets of information about various types of play, this chapter will attempt to give you the resources to better understand the strength and intentions of your opponents so that you can respond and react accordingly.

Experts in communication tell us that most people put more credence on nonverbal communications, reflected by body language and expression than they do on the words spoken when the two messages are not congruent. When verbal and nonverbal communications are combined you have even more information. There are also books and video instructions available to make you aware of various kinds of "tells" a player may intentionally or unintentionally give to reveal the strength of their hand.

Although most online poker games provide a way for players to communicate information through typed chat messages and canned statements while involved in a hand, these resources are used in moderation and all of the nonverbal elements are missing. However, what is being said by the betting dialog is still the same and needs to be given and interpreted correctly.

It is vital for you to go beyond the simple message being given to determine how much credibility to place on that information. In your relationships with people away from the poker table you need to be able to discern whether the person is lying, exaggerating, understating or withholding information before you can make the proper interpretation of what is really happening. The same is true with poker, only to a more extensive degree.

##### Understanding the Speaker

The better you know the person the better able you will be to make a correct assessment. So if you have never played with this person, pay particular attention to how they play and the signals they give when they play. **_This is why it is important that you study the action even when you are not in the hand._** In other words, you need to determine and consider their style and table image to properly evaluate their communication. Table image will be covered in the second book of the Pokerish series.

Throughout this book we will talk about how loose and tight players would play & act in various situations. We will also talk about how aggressive & passive players will play and act in various situations. Loose and tight players are the two extremes of a continuum that determines the players affinity for risk and how wide their choice of card combinations & hands they are willing to play. A players placement on the aggressive-passive scale represents how forceful they will be with regard to betting and raising to intimidate or control their opponents. However, very few players are at the extremes of these continuums, but rather fall somewhere in between with tendencies toward one extreme or the other.

#####  Unique Pokerish Terms and Phrases

To better understand what is being communicated at the poker table you also need to understand the unique Pokerish terms and phrases used by veteran poker players. Sometimes we are reluctant to ask what a term or phrase means and, as a consequence, miss important information that is being conveyed. A rather healthy listing of these can be found in chapter 5 of this book as well as in the main text.

So in summary, if you understand the underlying messages being conveyed by the checks, bets, calls, raises, re-raises and check-raises of your opponents, it will help you make better decisions about how to play your hand. In the next section we will start by looking at some Pokerish dialog that is spoken before the flop. 

## Section 1.3

# Dialog Before the Flop

Once a hand has been completed the button is moved one player to the left to indicate the virtual dealer who will act last on the flop, the turn, and the river. The player to the left of the button is required to post a small blind which is half of the initial bet. The next player to the left posts the big blind, which is a full bet. Thus in a four-eight limit game the small blind will post a two dollar bet and the big blind would post a four dollar bet. Both of these bets are mandatory and are made before any cards are dealt for the new hand. Both of the blinds are live in that either the small blind or the big blind can raise the bet when their turn comes. Since both of these bets are made before any cards are dealt they do not provide any information about the players or their holdings.

The player to the left of the big blind may post a live straddle if they wish. The live straddle is twice the full bet, but is not considered to be a raise and three raises are allowed after the straddle. So in a four-eight game the bets and raises can reach $20 instead of the $16 cap that would be allowed by a bet and three raises in a non-straddled hand. Since the straddle is live, the straddler can also raise their own bet on the first round of betting. Most players do not straddle on a consistent basis as it requires them to put out two bets in early position before they have even seen their cards. Some players will post a live straddle to loosen up a game or to announce to the rest of the table that they are willing to gamble and are a loose and aggressive player. A description of button straddles and progressive straddles will be covered in section 2.4 of chapter 2.

After the blinds have been posted and the two down cards are dealt to each player, the first player to act after the blind starts the dialog. This player is said to be "under the gun". Since hold'em poker is a very positional game, those in early position will usually fold unless they have a strong hand or a holding which has great potential if the right cards come on the flop. That is because if they "limp-in" with a marginal hand they may be raised by a late position player with a better hand and forced to either fold the hand or call the raise. If they have a strong hand, they might raise to build the pot and to limit the number of players who stay in the hand and compete for the pot. The value of a strong initial holding like a high "pocket pair" diminishes if several players stay in the pot and see the flop.

If the player just has a holding with potential such as high cards, suited cards or cards which are likely to complete a straight, they will usually just call to get a look at the flop and see if their hand meshes with the three card flop. A raise from late position can be made with a weaker holding with the same desired results as an early position raise. A re-raise from late position indicates that the player believes they have the best holding and by re-raising will probably cause both of the blinds to fold unless they have strong holdings themselves.

In low limit games it is common for at least the big blind to call a raise and sometimes a re-raise on the basis that they already have money invested and stand to win a big pot if the right cards hit the flop. One of the reasons a player may raise or re-raise is to get the small and large blinds to fold and improve the raiser's chances of winning. Calling these raises by either blind is referred to as "defending your blind". If you have a reputation for consistently defending your blind, players will be more reluctant to make a raise in hopes that you will automatically fold if you do not have a strong hand. However, in the case of a re-raise, both the small blind and the big blind may fold if they think the original raiser might cap the bet at four bets. As mentioned earlier, you need to interpret the messages being sent by the players involved factoring in their aggressive or passive playing style.

It is unusual to see a check-raise before the flop. A check-raise is usually done by a player in early position to trap a player in a later position who has a weaker hand or one who is trying to steal the blinds with a bluff. The reason is that the check-raise is a very strong bet and the trapper will usually wait until the turn or even the river to trap someone who is betting with an inferior hand. One of the reasons for this is that once the trap has been sprung, everyone else in the hand will be alerted to the value of the hand held by the check-raiser. Also on the turn and the river the bets are twice the size of the bets on the first two streets of betting.

Thus, the bettor will make more profit by waiting until later in the hand to spring the trap. A check-raise before the flop is unlikely to elicit a fold as the bettor and any intervening players already have money invested and have yet to see the flop. Also failing to bet in early position invites players to see the flop cheaply and potentially outdraw the strong initial holding.

Another factor which will create more action early in the hand is the amount of blind bets there are in the pot before the holdings are dealt. Of course, the small and large blinds are mandatory and will be present in every hand. There may also be other blind bets which are made before anyone sees their cards. Straddles are voluntary bets made without the benefit of having seen a holding. Also, if a player has missed their blind(s), they will be required to put in an amount equal to the blind(s) missed or required to sit out until the big blind comes to them. All of these funds are unsupported by the value of the holdings, which will be dealt to the players advancing these bets. Thus, they represent a potential windfall to a player who is dealt a strong holding.

As mentioned earlier, the message carried by a particular action must be weighed by the credibility of the player taking that action. Thus, the message may be meant to create an illusion rather than a true statement. Taking these factors into consideration, the messages being conveyed by the action on the table before the flop can usually be interpreted as follows:

**Live Straddle** \- (1) I want to loosen up the game and build a larger pot. (2) I want to create a "table image" that I have money to burn and am here to gamble.

**Call** \- (1) I have a good holding that has multiple ways to turn into a big hand if the right cards come on the flop. (2) I am a very loose player who will call with any two cards because I could hit a monster if the right cards fall on the flop and I will have a very concealed hand. (3) I am a very tight player and will not raise with my large pocket pair, or other raising cards, until after I see the flop. If no over cards or scare cards come on the flop, I will have a strong and undivulged hand. (4) I am in the small blind and only have to see half a bet unless the big blind raises behind me.

**Raise** \- (1) I have a strong holding and want to build the pot and eliminate those players with a weak holding, who could hit the flop and beat my strong holding. (2) Since the pot is now very small and no one has raised before me, I may be able to pick up the pot right here with a bluff or at least limit the number of players who stay to see the flop. This will also set me up for a continuation bet bluff on the flop, which may also win me the pot.

**Re-Raise** \- I believe that I have the strongest holding and want to build the pot and create dead money from those who will not call two or three raises. I can potentially get heads-up with the initial raiser who I feel is either bluffing or is raising with a weaker holding.

**Fold** \- (1) I do not think that in my position my holding justifies putting in the funds required to see the flop. I will wait for better cards in better position. (2) I have been caught limping with a weak hand or bluffing at the pot and am now surrendering, rather than face an expensive road to a probable loss.

**Check** \- Since I have not been raised, I will check and be able to see the flop before I need to make any decisions. Before the flop, only the big blind or the live straddle can check.

## Section 1.4

# Dialog After the Flop

Once the initial round of betting has been completed, the dealer will put the three card flop on the table face up so that all players can see the cards and combine them with their unique two card holding to make a completed five card poker hand. At this point, the dialog gets very important and distinct from the dialog which occurred before the flop. This is because after the flop the betting not only reflects a players potential hand, but also a hand which may already be "made."

If three suited cards fall on the flop, a player may bet on a made flush or a flush draw with a high suited card. In that case, the player who raised with a high pair or high cards before the flop might now just call or possibly even fold. Thus, the pre-flop raiser might fold, even if they have top pair, or an over pair to the board, because the possibility of a made or potential flush, unless they have a high card in that suit. Unless you have the ace or the king in that suit, you are better off just folding.

The same is true if the flop brings three cards which represent a likely straight. In both cases, the betting by players who were passive before the flop is disconcerting to those players who were aggressive before the flop. If a player flops a made flush or a straight, they will usually bet it aggressively to drive out players who hold cards, which could make a better hand on the turn or the river. That is especially true if the flop brings two or three suited cards, which threaten a flush or a higher flush than the bettor holds. A player who flops the lower end of the straight and who is in early position may just check his hand to find out if someone else bets the high end of the straight.

If a pair shows up on the flop and a player bets, especially in early position, it is an indication that the bettor has three-of-a-kind. If this bet is raised on the flop it usually indicates that two players have flopped three-of-a-kind and the kicker becomes a very key card if it makes the highest hand or even completes a full house. If there are no bets before them, a late position player who has flopped two pair might bet, especially if the second pair is higher than the pair shown on the board.

Even with a pair showing on the flop, a loose player may bet two pair in early position to represent that they have flopped three-of-a-kind and possibly pick up the pot. If someone in later position raises indicating that they actually have flopped three-of-a-kind with a strong kicker, or perhaps even a full house, the loose player will usually back off and may even fold. It is usually better to bet your three-of-a-kind rather than to slow play them, especially if there are scare cards on the board.

The most deceptive hand on the flop is someone who has a pocket pair and flops a matching card to make a "set". If a player holds a small or medium pocket pair and flops a set, they have a very strong and disguised hand. Lets assume that the flop brings an Ah-9c-3c (ace of hearts, nine of clubs, and three of clubs). The player who holds an Ad-Kd (ace of diamonds & king of diamonds) holds the top pair with the top kicker. The player who holds an As-9s (ace of spades & nine of spades) has the top two pair. The player with an Ac-Qc (ace of clubs & queen of clubs) has the top pair with a strong kicker and the nut flush draw. The player with 3s-3d (three of spades & three of diamonds) has flopped a set and holds the best hand. In this case, there is a strong possibility that the betting will be capped before the turn.

If the Kc (king of clubs) now falls on the turn, the betting will get even more aggressive with the Ac-Qc now having the best hand with the nut flush. However, none of the other players will probably fold, since one holds the top two pair with a second nut full house draw, one has a set of threes with an ace-king kicker, and the third has two pair with a potential full house. A Kh (king of hearts) on the river brings two full houses to displace the nut flush as the best hand, diminish the value of the As-9s holding, and give the player with the Ad-Kd the winning hand.

The point here is that before the flop the players with the Ad-Kd & Ac-Qc would probably be the players raising and the As-9s & 3s-3d would be the hands calling. On the flop the players with the Ad-Kd, As-9s & 3s-3d would all be betting & raising and the Ac-Qc would probably just be calling. On the turn the Ac-Qc would be betting and raising with the nut flush and the other three hands would at least be calling. On the river the two full houses would be betting, the nut flush calling, and the As-9s probably folding. Any other player trying to bluff on any street of betting would be quickly be driven out by the four players who really had strong hands after the flop.

Just think about how an 8, 3 or 9 on the river would have changed the dynamics and the betting dialog. Any river card which does not pair the board leaves the nut flush as the highest hand. A three on the river gives the pocket threes four-of-a-kind (quads). A nine on the river makes the As-9s the best hand. Combining the five cards on the board with the folds, bets & raises made up to and on the river will give you a better idea of what each player holds.

As a general rule if a player holds a small or medium pair and the flop does not bring a set or an open ended straight draw, that hand will likely be folded if over cards are flopped and bet. The reason is that the player only has two outs or about an 8.7% chance of picking up three-of-a-kind by the river.

Another common practice is for the player who had the last bet or raise before the flop to make a "continuation bet" after the flop if no one bets before them, even if the flop has not improved their hand. By making a continuation bet they are trying to win the pot outright or at least eliminate those players who have also not improved on the flop and fear that the bettor has top pair and a strong kicker or a pocket over-pair to the board. The A-K that the player raised on before the flop may also be the best hand if no one else has flopped a pair.

It is also common practice for a player in late position to raise the pot with a drawing hand just to save money on the next round. In a $4-$8 game the player makes a $4 raise or re-raise after the flop. After the turn those players in early position will usually check to the last raiser, because they think he has flopped a big hand or they have made a strong hand and hope to check-raise the late position player. If the late position player has made their draw, they will probably bet again. If not, they can just check and get to see the river card for free. Since the raise on the flop costs them only $4 and saved them $8 to $32 on the turn, they are money ahead and get a free look at the river card. This maneuver is called a raise-check.

The same strategy can be used by an early position player who makes a check-raise after the flop. The check-raise costs them only $4 to see if they can hit their draw on the turn. If they do hit their draw, they can lead out with a bet. If not, they can just check and hope that the players behind them will also check, because they suspect another check-raise. The check-raise after the flop may also earn the check-raiser the pot outright, since the late position bet may have been a bluff or a bet with a weak hand or a drawing hand.

The messages being conveyed by the action on the table after the flop can usually be interpreted as follows:

**Check-in-the Dark** \- (1) I will negate your late position advantage by checking before the flop is divulged so you will not know if the flop improved my hand or not. This is especially effective if the flop brings lower cards or a low pair that is likely to have improved a blind hand. (2) If I hit the flop, I can check-raise a later position bettor here on the flop, or wait until the turn to bet out or check-raise at the higher betting tier. Waiting till the turn to show my power will also confuse players who will try and figure out how the turn card improved my hand. Checking-in-the-dark also gives me the advantage of seeing what everyone else behind me is doing before I commit any money into the pot. Only the small blind can check-in-the-dark since they are first to act. If the player or players before them check-in-the-dark then the next player can do so as well.

**Check** \- (1) I have missed the flop and will only see the turn if everyone else checks behind me. (2) I have caught part of the flop but am in early position and would like to see what other players do behind me so I can see the turn as cheaply as possible. (3) I have flopped a monster and do not want to drive anyone out of the hand. I would like someone to make a lesser hand and bet it confidently so I can check-raise and win a big pot. (4) I have flopped a strong hand and the board does not contain any scare cards that would give someone else a draw at a better hand. I will, therefore, check to set a late position bettor up for a check-raise on the turn or the river.

**Bet** \- (1) My holding contains an over-pair to the board or the top pair and a high kicker. I would like to bet and drive out those players with drawing cards that could potentially beat me. (2) I have flopped two pair and want to drive out the drawing hands and get heads up with the player who holds just a single high pair. (3) I have flopped a set and want to protect my hand against someone who has or could develop a straight, a flush, or a draw on the turn. (4) I have flopped a straight and there are two suited cards on the board which could give someone a flush on the turn or river if I don't get them to fold. (5) I have flopped a flush but do not hold the king or ace in that suit and want to drive out someone with a higher flush potential in case a fourth suited card comes on the turn or the river. (6) I have flopped a four card flush draw or an open ended straight draw and, since I am a loose player, will bet my draw to build a large pot in case I hit my draw. This will also set me up for a bluff at the pot on the river, based on everyone's view that I have flopped a strong hand and am betting it aggressively. (7) I want to "test the water" and find out if another player has a stronger hand. If I get raised here, and believe it is not a bluff, I can fold before we get to the higher betting tier.

**Call** \- (1) I have flopped an open ended straight draw and am forced to call a previous bet to see the turn card. (2) I have flopped four cards to a flush and am forced to call a previous bet to see the turn card. (3) I have flopped top pair with a weak kicker and I want to see the turn in hopes that I can hit my kicker, make three-of-a-kind, or hit a second pair which will solve my kicker problem. (4) I have flopped a strong hand and want to get someone in later position to raise with a weaker hand or bluff at the pot. I do not want to raise and drive out other players who may bet or raise and increase the size of the pot. (5) I have flopped a strong hand and want to set up a check-raise on the turn or the river.

**Raise** \- (1) I have a strong hand and want to build the pot and eliminate those players with a weaker hand who could hit their draw on the turn or the river and beat my strong hand. (2) Since the pot is still relatively small and no one has raised before me, I may be able to pick up the pot right here with a bluff or at least limit the number of players who stay to see the turn. This will also set me up for a continuation bet bluff on the turn, which may also win me the pot.

**Re-Raise** \- I believe I have the strongest hand and want to build the pot and create dead money from those who will not call two or three raises. I can potentially get heads-up with the initial raiser, who I feel is either bluffing or is raising with a weaker hand.

**Check Raise** \- (1) I want to either pick up the pot right now or have a chance to check on the turn and not worry about a subsequent bet, for fear I might check-raise again. This is especially effective with a "semi-bluff" hand. (2) I hope this will save me a bet on the turn and give me a free look at the river card for a low tier bet, if I don't hit my draw.

**Fold** \- (1) There has been a bet and I don't think that in my position my holding justifies putting in the funds that might be required to see the turn. I will wait for better cards in better position. (2) I have been caught playing a weak hand or bluffing at the pot and am now surrendering rather than face an expensive road to a probable loss.

## Section 1.5

# Dialog After the Turn

Usually several players will see the flop, especially if there are not any raises or re-raises before the flop. That is because they get to see three cards for only a single, low tier bet. After the flop most players will fold if their cards do not mesh with the three board cards to give them a playable hand or a draw at a strong hand. Those players who have developed a hand on the flop will usually bet and raise to get the drawing hands out before the turn. However, since the players can see the fourth card before the betting structure reaches the higher betting tier, many will "take one off" to see if they can make their hand, or improve their draw(s), on the turn.

If they make their hand on the turn, they can now take advantage of the higher betting tier to increase the pot size and drive out players who now have inferior hands. This gives them two betting rounds at the higher betting tier to expand the pot and increases their "implied odds". Pot odds are based on how much you will have to put in the pot to see if you can make the hand you are after, relative to what you would win if you make your hand and it turns out to be the winning hand. However, the earlier you make your hand the more betting rounds there are after you make your hand and the larger the eventual pot will become. Factoring this into your decision is then based on the implied odds.

If the player does not make their hand on the turn, they must weigh how much they will have to pay to get a look at the river card. Unless they think they can bluff the other players out of the hand, most players will just call or check with their drawing hands. If there are several players still in the hand, a loose-aggressive player will often bet their flush or straight draw, especially if it would end up being the nut flush or nut straight. This is referred to as a semi-bluff. A bluff is when the player bets to convince the other players that they have a strong hand when they don't. A semi-bluff is a bluff with the chance to make the strong hand, if the right cards come on the board.

After the turn you are also more likely to see a check-raise. As mentioned earlier, the check-raise is much more profitable after the bets double on the higher betting tier, which starts on the turn. Many early position players will also check-raise here as the later position bettor and other callers are more likely to call the check-raise since they have already put in the first bet and still have one more card to see. If the early position player check-raises on the turn, they will then need to bet out on the river, unless they fear the river card has made someone else a higher hand. Also it may be impossible to check-raise on the river as the late position hands may just check, because they suspect a check-raise and are not likely to be called by a player with an inferior hand.

After the turn you are also more likely to see someone "drafting". Drafting is a term used in bicycle racing, where one or more riders will ride directly behind another rider and let the lead rider use their energy to break the wind. This lets the riders behind go the same speed without expending the same amount of energy as the lead rider. In poker I use this term to designate a phenomenon where a tight player with a strong hand lets a loose player bet his hand for him.

Thus, just as the lead rider is shielding the drafting rider from the wind, the loose player's action and table image is shielding the tight player's strength from the rest of the table. The advantage to the player drafting is that several players might call the loose player's bet where they would not be willing to call a bet or a raise by the tight player. Here they might suspect that the loose player is bluffing (or semi-bluffing) and the tight player is just on a draw. I am always suspicious of a tight player who is just calling and I may fold a moderate hand, which I believe will beat the loose player, because I suspect that the tight player is drafting with a big hand.

If the tight player were to raise the loose player's bet, most of the table, including the loose player, would immediately fold and the drafter would lose action and curtail the growth of the pot. However, on the river the drafter might reveal their strength with a bet, raise, or check-raise (depending on their position) just to get a few more dollars into the pot from those who might call because of the size of the pot and the unlikely chance that the tight player might be bluffing.

The messages being conveyed by the action on the table after the turn can be usually be interpreted as follows:

**Check-in-the Dark** \- (1) I will negate your late position advantage by checking before the turn card is divulged so you will not know if the turn card improved my hand or not. (2) If I hit the turn I can either check-raise you on the turn, bet out on the river, or check-raise you on the river. This gives me the advantage of seeing what everyone else behind me is doing before I commit any money into the pot. Only the small blind can check-in-the-dark since they are first to act. If the player or players before them check-in-the-dark then the next player can do so as well.

**Check** \- (1) I have missed the turn and will only see the river if everyone else checks behind me. (2) I have caught part of the board but am in early position and would like to see what other players do behind me so I can see the river as cheaply as possible. (3) I have flopped or turned a monster hand and do not want to drive anyone out of the hand. I would like someone to make a lesser hand and bet it confidently so I can check-raise and win a big pot. (4) I have flopped or turned a strong hand and the board does not contain any scare cards that would give someone else a draw at a better hand. I will, therefore, check to set a late position bettor up for a check-raise on the river. With my strong hand I hope someone will improve their hand or bluff at the pot.

**Bet** \- (1) I have the top pair with a strong kicker or an overpair to the board and my previous bets have not been raised. I would like to bet and drive out those players with drawing cards that could potentially beat me. (2) I have two pair and want to drive out the drawing hands and get heads up with the player who holds just a single high pair or a lower two pair. (3) I have a set and want to protect my hand against someone who could make a straight or a flush on the river. (4) I have a straight and there are two suited cards on the board which could give someone a flush on the river if I don't get them to fold. (5) I have a flush but do not hold the king or ace in that suit and want to drive out someone with a higher flush potential in case a fourth suited card comes on the river. (6) A scare card has come on the turn and I want to represent that it gave me a strong hand and the pot is not large enough to entice the other players to call my bluff with a marginal hand.

**Call** \- (1) I have an open ended straight draw and am forced to call a previous bet to see the river card. If I am a loose player, or if the pot is large enough, I may make the call with a gut shot straight draw. (2) I have four cards to a flush and am forced to call a previous bet to see the river card. (3) I have top pair with a weak kicker and I want to see the river in hopes that I can hit my kicker, make three of a kind or hit a second pair, which will solve my kicker problem. (4) I have flopped or turned a strong hand and want to get someone in later position to bet a weaker hand or bluff at the pot. I do not want to raise and drive out other players who may bet or raise and increase the size of the pot. (5) I am "drafting" with a strong hand and someone in later position has been betting my hand for me. I plan to check-call here to set up a check-raise on the river.

**Raise** \- (1) I have a strong hand and want to build the pot and eliminate those players with a weak holding who could hit their card on the river and win the pot. (2) I believe that I can win the pot outright here or at least set myself up to bluff on the river.

**Re-Raise** \- (1) I believe I have the strongest hand and want to build the pot and create dead money from those who will not call two or three raises. I can potentially get heads-up with the initial raiser who I feel is either bluffing or is raising with a weaker holding. (2) I believe that I can win the pot outright here or at least set myself up to bluff on the river.

**Check-Raise** \- (1) I have a very strong hand and am hoping to get someone in later position to bet so that I can come over the top and increase the size of the pot. (2) I want to either pick up the pot right now or have a chance to check on the river and not worry about a subsequent bet for fear I might check-raise again. This is especially effective with a semi-bluff hand. (3) Since we are now at the higher betting tier, I think that this is a good spot to spring the trap with my strong hand and increase the size of the pot. The bettor and those players who have already called the bet will probably call since they have already put in money for the initial bet. Those players between myself and the bettor will have to call two higher tier bets cold and may fold and improve my odds of winning. I know that I will now need to bet out on the river unless I think that the river card has given another player a better hand.

**Fold** \- (1) There has been a bet and I do not think that my hand or draw justifies putting in the funds that might be required to see the river. (2) I have not improved my hand on the turn and don't think my hand or my draw merits making a call. (3) Given the number of players still in the hand and the size of the pot, I don't think a bluff or a semi-bluff will get anybody out of the hand.

## Section 1.6

# Dialog After the River

Since the final card has been dealt, there are no more chances to hit your draw. If you did hit your draw, you will probably bet to try and increase the size of the pot. A bet in early position will normally get several players who have not improved their hands to fold. Even if they have not improved their hand, some might call you with marginal hands to make sure you are not trying to "steal the pot." After the first player has called to "keep you honest," those players behind the caller will usually fold, since they now get to see your hand at showdown without risking any additional money. Also because they know that the caller is not bluffing, since it is impossible to bluff with a call. However, I have seen a player who bluffed with a bet fold their hand to a call because they know they are beat and do not want to show their holding. The larger the pot, the more likely those with marginal hands will call or even raise the initial bettor and re-bluff at the pot.

After the river card has been dealt, the bluffing is at its highest level. That is because someone who has missed their draw, or played a marginal hand to the river hoping to improve, might take this opportunity to bluff and possibly pick up the pot. If a scare card comes and no one has bet before them, it may be their only opportunity to win the pot. This is especially true if they have a tight table image and the pot is not large enough to force someone with a marginal hand to call their bet. It is not uncommon to see someone call a bet with a low pair and win the pot from a player who has been aggressively betting "big slick" (A-K) from before the flop, even though they have not hit anything that would beat a pair.

Because bluffing is at its highest after the river card has been exposed, some players with a strong hand will check in early position in hopes that someone with a weaker hand will bet their marginal hand to see if those who checked before them will fold to their bet. It is for that reason, that a tight player in late position who has led the betting before the river might just check, because they think someone might be trying trap them with a check-raise. This is especially true if the river card is a scare card, which could have hit a drawing hand and now become the best hand. The logic of checking on the river goes something like this: Since I have been betting once I developed my hand on the flop or the turn, other players have probably put me on a hand. If I bet on the river, they will either fold their hand or come over the top with a raise rather than just call. In neither scenario will it prove prudent for me to bet.

The messages being conveyed by the action on the table after the river can be usually be interpreted as follows:

**Check-in-the Dark** \- (1) I will negate your late position advantage by checking before the river card is divulged so you will not know if the river card improved my hand or not. I also won't give you any tells by my reaction to the river card, since I haven't seen it yet. (2) If I hit the river I can check-raise you after you have bet. This gives me the advantage of seeing what everyone else behind me is doing before I commit any money into the pot. (3) I have already made a strong hand and know that if I bet out in early position everyone is likely to fold, especially if I have a tight table image. If I check in the dark a later position player will be enticed to bluff at the pot or bet with a modest hand. This will allow me to check-raise and increase the size of my pot. Because the pot will be fairly large by this time, the bettor will usually call the raise just to protect their credibility and keep me honest. Only the small blind can check-in-the-dark since they are first to act. If the player or players before them check-in-the-dark the next player can do so as well.

**Check** \- (1) I have missed the river and will only see the showdown if everyone else checks. (2) I have hit my draw and think I now have the best hand. Since I am in early position, I will check and hope someone behind me will bet a weaker hand or try and pick up the pot with a bluff. (3) I have been leading the betting up to this point but suspect that someone has now made their draw on the river or has been slow playing a big hand and let me lead the betting. I do not see any upside to betting my hand on the river and possibly getting raised by a later position player or trapped with a check-raise by an earlier position player. (4) I have hit my draw but fear that the river card also gave someone else a higher straight or flush. I will, therefore, check-call rather than get raised by a player with a better hand. My check may also invite a bluff or a bet from a player with a weaker hand who might think they can pick up the pot with a bet.

**Bet** \- (1) I believe that I have the best hand and want to maximize the size of my pot. (2) I have missed my draw but will represent that I have hit a valuable card on the river or have been slow playing a powerful hand from before the river. (3) I am in late position and everyone has checked before me so I may be able to pick up the pot if everyone has missed their draw or not improved their weak holding.

**Call** \- I think that the bettor may be trying to pick up the pot with a bluff or a hand weaker than mine.

**Raise** \- (1) I have a strong hand and want to build the pot. (2) I suspect that the bettor may have a weaker hand. (3) I think that the the bettor is bluffing and that I can get them and everyone else to fold if I raise the pot.

**Re-Raise** \- (1) I believe I have the best hand and want to build the pot. (2) I think that both the bettor and raiser are bluffing and that I can get them and everyone else fold if I re-raise the pot.

**Check Raise** \- I have a very strong hand and am hoping to get someone in later position to bet so that I can come over the top and increase the size of the pot.

**Fold** \- (1) I have not improved my hand on the river and don't think my hand is strong enough to win the pot. (2) Given the number of players still in the hand and the size of the pot I don't think a bluff will get everyone out of the pot. (3) Someone else has already called the bettor before me and their call is not a bluff. I will, therefore, be able to see what the bettor is holding without costing me anything.

## Section 1.7

# Pokerish Gestures

All of the dialog covered earlier in this chapter can be conveyed without speaking a word. Of course if you are playing online, you can just indicate your action by clicking on the appropriate buttons with your mouse pointer. Even if you are playing live in a poker room, you can communicate without speaking the language or having any verbal dialog at all. Like obscene language, obscene gestures are not allowed in most poker rooms.

##### Betting Gestures

Listed below are the gestures necessary to communicate your action to the dealer and the rest of the players at the table:

**Check** \- You can indicate a check by just tapping your finger on the table or pointing to the player who would be next to act.

**Bet** \- You can indicate your bet by putting out chips to indicate your bet. In a limit game the amount is dictated by the table limits and the betting tier you are in at the time of the bet. Even in a no limit game you can slide out the chips that indicate how much you wish to bet.

**Call** \- You would indicate a call by putting out the minimum amount of chips required to stay in the hand based on the bets and raises made by the players acting before you.

**Raise** \- You can indicate a raise by putting out the amount of chips which represent one more bet than made by the previous better or raiser. In a limit game this will be determined by the table limits and the betting tier you are in at the time of the bet. In a no limit game it must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise.

If you indicate a raise by raising your closed fist with a thumb up, you can put your chips out without being accused of making a string bet. However, if you are making a bet or a raise, you need to know what that poker rooms rules are with regard to putting out a bet or a raise.

In some poker rooms there is a line on the table and any chips, which you push out beyond that line are considered to be a bet. If the chips remain behind that line, the dealer will ask you to push your chips across the line if you wish to bet or raise. In other card rooms, any forward motion with raising chips is considered to be a raise. A card room will allow you to count out your chips or put them into betting stacks before you slide them forward without considering those chips to be in play.

**Re-Raise** \- You can re-raise by putting out one more bet (or more in a no limit game) than required for a call.

**Check-Raise** \- You check by tapping your finger and then after a subsequent player bets you come "over the top" with raising chips.

**Fold** \- You just surrender your cards face down to the dealer.

**Straddle** \- You put out a double blind before any cards are dealt in the hand. Only the player to the immediate left of the big blind can straddle unless the poker room allows a "button straddle". If your poker room does not recognize a live straddle your bet is just considered to be a blind raise and is not live. If you post a button straddle you would just put out a double blind on your dealer button. Button straddles are explained further in section 2.4 of chapter 2.

**Re-Straddle** \- Some poker rooms allow "progressive straddles", where the player to the immediate left of the straddler is allowed to add an additional bet on top of the straddle amount. All of the straddles are live unless progressive straddles are not recognized by the poker room. In that case, this action would just be considered as a blind re-raise.

##### Other Gestures

If your name is called to see if you are still interested in a particular game you may indicate your response by gestures as well. This is a very important communication especially in a large noisy poker room. Listed below are the gestures for responding to a call for interest.

**Yes** \- If you are still interested in playing the game being announced, just raise your hand when your name is called. This is the same gesture you used back in school when you wanted to be recognized by the teacher.

**No** \- If you are not interested in playing the game being announced, just wave your hand back and forth like you are trying to get someone's attention or waving goodbye.

**Later** \- If you do not want to go to the game being called down now, but would like to reconsider later, you can request to be added to the bottom of the list. This gesture is made by making a circular clockwise motion with your finger.

# Chapter 2

# Pokerish Savvy

Now that you better understand the language & logic, it is important that you understand the rules, play, promotions and procedures of the Pokerish community. The first time I sat down at a table in a Las Vegas casino poker room, a little over twenty-five years ago, I didn't know what to expect. Although I had played poker in home games and small card rooms for years, I was a little intimidated to sit down with professional and semi-professional players in this kind of a setting. I had visions from old western movies of stern faced gamblers with six guns at the ready, who might reach over and steal your chips if you were not paying attention.

This image was quickly erased by very congenial professional and amateur players who joked with each other and had friendly conversations. I also soon learned that you could leave your chips on the table while you were away without having to worry about anyone taking advantage of your absence. I found out that both the dealer and the more experienced players were not only congenial with each other but also patient with new players who didn't always know the rules, customs, terminology and procedures of the game.

Hopefully this book will be helpful in introducing the nuances of various casinos and poker rooms so you can sit right down and feel at home at the table regardless of where you play. You will also know what possible variations there are between poker rooms and what questions to ask to make sure you understand the betting regiment, rules, promotions, and procedures at that poker room and at that game. Below are the five sections in this chapter:

**Section 2.1** will address those things you need to avoid when you are playing in a casino or card room. Some of those things can actually get you expelled from that poker room for a certain period of time.

**Section 2.2** will cover what you need to understand to feel comfortable at the table and not be worried about making yourself look foolish or insulting the house people, the dealer and most importantly the other players at your table.

**Section 2.3** will look at what happens at the end of the hand. This includes the showing of hands and awarding of the main pot and side pots or the splitting of these pots.

**Section 2.4** explains kill pots, overs buttons, and straddles. This section not only covers what these are, but how they will influence the play where those provisions are in place.

**Section 2.5** will discuss the various types of promotions which are typically offered at casinos or public card rooms. Here we will look at not only how these promotions work but how they may affect play at the table.

## Section 2.1

# Pokerish Prohibitions

The first thing that you need to do after you have signed up to play at a new poker room is to read their rules. As with most laws and rules, ignorance is no excuse. The poker rules for that poker room are usually posted on the wall in large lettering. Online sites will also have their rules posted on the site. However, there are some rules which are consistent with almost any poker room. Those rules are enumerated below:

##### Speaking only in English

The reason for this rule is to insure, as much as possible, that all players at the table have the same information and a few players do not share information, which would give them a unique advantage. If a card is exposed, the dealer will make sure that all players at the table are aware of what that card was so that all players have the same information and advantage. In the same vein, every player has the right to know information, which could impact the odds and play of the hand. If two or more players are conversing in a language, which is not understood by the remaining players at the table and the dealer, that principle has been violated. Communications limited to only a few of the players could result in collusion about the cards in play or the intent of the players involved.

Although the official language spoken at a poker table in a foreign country or private venue might be other than English, everyone at the table should be comfortable with the communication arrangement. However, most poker venues, especially casinos or public card rooms in the United States and Canada, will speak English. Many of the international tournaments played around the world also require dialog in English to accommodate an international clientele of players and television audiences. If a player does not speak English, they can learn the terms "fold, call, bet, raise," or just use the gestures covered in section 1.7 of chapter 1.

Even though everyone at the table may be speaking English, some of the unique terms and phrases, which make up standard poker jargon are allowed and may not be ones recognized by all the players. That is why the text and glossary of this book presents this kind of information so you will not be oblivious to what is being communicated by the other players at your table.

##### Acting in Turn

The player to act first on any round of the hand has already been explained in section 1.1 of chapter 1. All subsequent action is to be taken in turn after the player to your right has acted. This includes folding as well as checking, betting, or raising. Acting prematurely will give some players an advantage by knowing what the players behind them intend to do. If a player is putting out chips you still have to wait until they have put out chips to call or raise before you take any action. If they have verbally announced that they are folding, checking, betting, or raising, then you can fold your hand if you wish. This is perhaps the most common violation of the Pokerish rules and the one that new players have the hardest time getting in the habit of doing.

Pay particular attention to all of the betting as the players to your right may be acting out of turn and give valuable information to a player who has not acted yet and is still considering what to do. If you are not sure if all the players have acted before you, ask the dealer where the action is on that round of play.

##### String Betting

If a player wants to use chips to indicate a raise, they must take all of the chips out at one time. They cannot put out calling chips and then go back and get more chips to indicate a raise. That is considered to be a "string bet" and may be called by any player active in the hand. If an active player calls the action a string bet and this is recognized by the dealer, then the bet is ruled as a call and the raising chips withdrawn. If the number of chips put out by a player constitutes at least half of the chips needed to raise (beyond the calling chips), the player may be able to add the remaining chips without this being considered to be a string bet. This can vary from poker room to poker room.

##### Using Obscene or Degrading Language

Most poker rooms will not tolerate a player who uses foul language or degrades another player at the table. Doing so will probably get you a warning by the dealer for the first offense and expulsion for the second. Obviously this will to a great extend will depend on the poker room, the dealer, the floor person, and the gender composition of the table.

##### Keeping Your Cards on the Table

Players need to keep their cards on the table or at least in sight of the other players and the dealer at all times. Players in flop and stud games will normally leave their down cards face down on the table and only peek underneath these cards guardedly to see what they are. If cards are lifted off the table, they must remain in plain sight. Players will not usually lift the cards off the surface of the table as this may enable an opponent to see what they are holding. Players will use their hands to shield their cards when they tip them up to look at underside of the cards. Since the rank and suit of a card is located in the upper left hand corner of the card, it is only necessary to tip up this corner to see what you are holding.

In a recent four-eight hold'em game a player in seat 5 (directly across from the dealer) lifted her cards off the table and the dealer was able to see what the holding was. The dealer made the player turn her cards face up so that all of us could see what her holding was. The dealer indicated that since they were able to see the holding, some of the other players might have seen them as well. On the premise that all of the players have the right to see any exposed cards, the holding was turned up for all of us to see. The player was still able to stay in the hand, but with her holding exposed, was at a definite disadvantage and ultimately folded.

##### Keeping Your Chips on the Table

Players are required to keep all of their chips on the table while they are at the table. They are not allowed to put chips in their pocket, purse or a side table unless they are leaving the table and not returning. They are usually allowed to pull money or chips out of their pocket if done so between hands. If a player has too big of a stack in front of them, they are allowed to "color up" and buy larger denomination chips if they wish. These higher value chips must remain on the table as well and are playable at any time.

If you win a prize or jackpot, some poker rooms will let you keep those chips off the table but others will not. Most poker rooms will allow you to use chips from your stack to pay for food and beverages served at the table.

##### Divulging your Hand

As mentioned earlier, when you fold you surrender your holding face down so that the players still in the hand do not know that these cards are not coming on the board or held in an active player's hand. You are also not allowed to verbally disclose your holding while you are actively in the hand. Even if you have folded you are not allowed to comment on what you threw away before the hand is completed. The reason for this is that it could effect the way the hand is played by those still in the hand. If two kings come on the flop and you say "I folded a king," you give players information about the likelihood that an opponent might be holding a king or the possibility of another king hitting the board.

During play you are not allowed to tell what cards you are holding, but it is permissible to lie about what you are holding. It is also illegal for a player to check the nut hand on the river if they are last to act. That rule is not very well known and seldom applied outside of high stake tournaments.

##### Touching the Pot or Board Cards

A player is not allowed to touch any of the cards on the board nor any of the chips in the pot. So if you have a large denomination chip you just place it in front of you as a bet and let the dealer make change for you. Do not reach into the pot and try and make change yourself. Also when the hand is over just turn your cards face up. The dealer will read your hand and show the board cards, which match with your holding, to indicate your best hand.

However, it is always prudent to keep your hand on your cards until you are awarded the pot or are satisfied that another player has a better hand. Sometimes the dealers make mistakes and might award your pot to another player. Also some players may misread their hands and announce that they have made a straight when they have not. Always make sure you see the hand announced before you relinquish your cards.

##### Splashing the Pot

Another bad habit engendered by watching old western movies is to throw your chips into the pot. This is called "splashing the pot" and is not allowed. You just put your bet or raise over the line in front of you. It is best to put them out in counted stacks so that the dealer will not have to count them. Once all the betting for that round is completed the dealer will pull all the chips into the pot before they deal the next card.

If a player splashes the pot, the dealer will usually have to recount all the chips in the pot against all of the action taken up to that point in the hand to make sure that the splashed chips were adequate for the call or raise made. When this happens during one of the later streets of betting, it can be quite time consuming. This delays the game needlessly and usually gets the player who splashed the pot a stern warning not to violate this rule again.

##### Throwing Cards

Some players get so disgusted about being beat, they throw their cards across the table rather than just surrendering them to the dealer. This can also be the case when a player has a monster hand and slams it on the table in a show of power. If the cards touch the board cards, another players holding, or bounce off the table, then a floor person will normally be called over to advise the dealer what to do to complete the hand. The dealer will normally warn a player the first time they trow their cards in this manner. If the same player repeats this behavior, a floor person will usually be called over to decide whether to eject the player from the poker room or give them a second and final warning.

I have seen several instances where this kind of behavior has voided a bad beat jackpot, because one of the qualifying hands was handled in such a way that one or more of the cards left the table and could not be verified by either the dealer or the overhead camera. At a large casino in Las Vegas a player who was not aware of the jackpots being offered by that casino threw his holding into the muck in disgust when he saw an opponent had quad queens. He was incensed, because his quad tens were beaten after substantial betting by himself and his heads up opponent. When one of the other players informed him that he would have qualified for the big end of a substantial super bad beat jackpot he was even more upset. That is why it is important to be aware of the jackpots and promotions covered in section 2.5 of this chapter.

##### Getting Advice

One of the rules most poker rooms will have on their list of prohibitions is "One Player to a Hand". You are allowed to get advice on your playing in between hands, but not while you are involved in a hand. Most poker rooms will allow a player to have a friend or a spouse sit behind the player and observe the game. This person could be classified as a "silent partner," because they can't offer advice or be consulted while the player is in a hand. A player can also go over to the "rail" and get coaching between hands.

##### Using Cell Phones

Most casinos do not allow you to be talking or texting on your cell phone or on an electronic tablet during a hand. Some casinos will deal you out if you are involved in a conversation on these devices when the hand starts. The main reason for this is that it distracts the player, slows down the play and could possibly be used to get advice or information.

##### Having Stuff on the Table

Poker rooms will allow you to have your chips and a small good luck icon on the table. Some poker rooms will also allow you to have cash on the table while other will only allow that until your chips arrive. If a poker room allows cash on the table, that cash is considered to be "in play."

Some poker rooms will allow players to have chip racks on the table and others will not. Even if the dealer does not make a player take these items off the table, it could void a jackpot when the floor person or others review the tape to insure that all the play for that jackpot was in accordance with the house rules. The reason for disallowing unnecessary items on the table is that cards could be hidden under these items. Those card rooms which do allow chip racks on the table will usually require them to be elevated on one end against the padded arm rest so that anything under the rack could be seen.

## Section 2.2

# Table Manners

The first thing we will address in this section is how to sign up for and get seated at a poker table. Whenever you enter a poker room there will be a physical or an electronic board showing the various games and limits that the poker room "spreads". Under each game there will be a list of names indicating the players and the order that they signed up. This information is visible to all players so that they can see where they stand on the waiting list for various games.

##### Poker Name

You can use a nickname, poker name or your first name and an initial for your last name. The main thing is that you have a name which is different from other players on the list. You can use "Lucky, Ace, Doc, River Rat" or any other name which distinguishes you from other players waiting for a seat. One egotistical player I knew used the name "Handsome John" to distinguish himself from other players named John.

##### Getting on the List

Once you decide which games you wish to sign up for, you can tell the house person who is maintaining the sign up board. The names of the players desiring to play a particular game are listed according to the first come first served rule. You may sign up for several games and take or refuse the seat when your turn comes.

If you are called for a particular table, you can either refuse that seat or take it and still remain on the list for other games or limits. However, you should be aware that the house person may just be calling down a table sign-up list to see how many players are still interested in that game so that they can update their list and know if they have enough interested players to start a new table. Don't give up your seat at the table you are playing on until they identify the new table and call the players to take their seats.

##### Table Assignments

Before a new table is established the house person will call down the list of players who will be positioned at the new table. If a player's name is called for a table, they need to indicate their desire to play on that table by raising their hand or indicate their desire to forgo that invitation by waving off the opportunity. A player may also indicate their desire to go to the bottom of that list and have another opportunity to play in that game at a later time. If they have just called down the list for interest they may just call the players to the new table.

##### Short Handed Tables

Sometimes the house person will start a table short handed if that is agreeable to all the players who are on the list for a particular game. In these cases the house will usually reduce the "rake" and the amount deducted for a jackpot drop until the table has more players. Explanation about the house rake and how it is collected is covered in the second book of the Pokerish series.

If the number of players at your table drops below six players, you can ask the dealer to get permission from the floor person to drop the rake and jackpot drop. If there is a jackpot drop, that money can only be used for jackpots and other promotional items for the players. Jackpots and other promotions will be explained in section 3.5 of this chapter. Explanation of how the jackpot is managed and collected is also covered in the second book of the Pokerish series..

##### Marking Your Seat

Before a table is started players may place a chip, their player's card, their car keys, or some other personal item on that table to indicate the position on the table they desire. If no such token is in place, you may select any seat you wish. If you are called to a table which is already going, you will normally be seated in the seat vacated by a player who left and created the vacancy. If more than one vacant seat is available, you may choose the one you wish.

Be aware that any player already at that table may indicate a desire to move to the vacated seat and you will be able to sit at any vacant seat once all of the existing players have exercised their rights to change seats. You may need to sit out a couple of hands to allow a player to play their button before moving.

##### Purchasing & Repurchasing Chips

Once you have secured your seat, you may buy your chips at the cashier's window or have the dealer request a chip runner to secure them for you. If a chip runner gets your chips for you, it is customary to give them a tip. The dealer may also sell you chips from their chip tray, if the amount is not too large. Some poker rooms may not allow the dealers to make a "soft break" and give a player both chips and change for a larger denomination bill.

Most card rooms require you to purchase a minimum amount of chips before you can begin play. This minimum is usually ten times the lower limit of the game being played. For example at a four-eight table the minimum would be $40 and at a three-six table the minimum purchase would be $30. This limit is usually also applied to any re-buy you make at the table if you have exhausted all your chips and wish to continue to play without leaving the table.

Some casinos and card rooms will allow one "short buy" at less than the minimum level. If you have any chips in front of you, your repurchase of chips can be made without having to secure the minimum amount. Small additions of chips can be made from the dealer, but in all cases you can indicate your desire to purchase additional chips and not be required to sit out, even if a chip runner will be required to secure your chips. You must, however, specify how many chips you wish to buy before you look at either of your two holding cards. The dealer will announce how much you are buying so that the rest of the players at the table know how many chips you have coming. That announcement will be made before the hand starts and the dealer will say something like "Seat 4 has $100 behind."

Under no circumstances will you be allowed to purchase chips while you are in a hand. If you put your money on the table and indicate how much you are buying before you look at your cards, that money can then be played in that hand. If you are involved in a hand before your chips arrive, the dealer will keep track of how much you owe into the pot. If the pot is awarded before your chips arrive, the dealer will let you know how much you owe the winner of that hand.

##### Protecting Your Cards

It is your responsibility to protect your holding cards and make sure that they are not raked in by the dealer or accidentally come in contact with another players holding or discards. This can be done by placing a chip or other card weight on top of your holding. This is especially important if you are sitting in one of the seats directly beside the dealer. If your cards do get scooped into the muck or come in contact with another players hand they are dead and cannot be retrieved.

In one hold'em game a player in seat 1 (beside the dealer) had checked their holding and then not noticed that that the dealer had inadvertently scooped one of his two holding cards into the muck. That player stayed in the hand until the showdown on the river and ended up winning the pot. When the player turned up his holding and realized that he had only one card he announced "I have a pair of kings and no kicker, I mean literally no kicker."

Most casino poker rooms require that a player have two cards in their holding to win the pot, but the dealer did not require this, probably because they knew that they were partially to blame for scooping in just one card and still allowing the player to continue on with the hand. Also the other players in the hand conceded that the player deserved the pot, since he had a winning hand with only one card and had put in all the necessary bets thinking that he still had two cards in his holding, .

##### Exposed Cards

If one or more cards get exposed as a player is folding, the dealer will turn those cards face up and make sure that all players are aware of what the exposed cards are. If a single card gets flipped up during the deal, that card will be turned up and will be the burn card before the flop is spread. If the dealer does not move the button or for some other reason starts dealing to the wrong player first, then the cards are retrieved, re-shuffled and re-dealt.

##### All In Bets & Side Pots

If you do not have enough chips to call a bet, you will be allowed to go "all in" with the chips you have available. In this case, all subsequent bets will be placed in a "side pot," which you will not be eligible to win. It is not uncommon to have more than one side pot when players exhaust their chips as the betting continues. In this case, after the last betting round has ended any active players still in the hand will show down for the last side pot. Then all players active for the previous side pot will be decided. This procedure will continue until all of the side pots and the main pot have been awarded.

In cases where there is only one active player who can bet, the dealer will instruct the two players active in the last side pot to turn over their hands, since no further betting is possible. The dealer will then deal out any remaining cards and award the last side pot.

##### Seat & Table Changes

While at the table you can request a change in seats once that seat becomes vacant. This request is made to the dealer and acknowledged by the other players at the table. If that move is more than a few seats away from the blind, you may be required to post a blind bet equal to the blinds or sit out a few hands until the big blind reaches you. Some card rooms require a new player to either post a blind bet equivalent to the blinds or wait until the big blind reaches them. Most card rooms will allow a new player to sit out until both blinds have passed their seat and then let them come in one position behind the button.

You can also sign up for a "table change" which will be annotated on the sign up board. When a seat becomes available at another table playing the same game and limit as the one you are at, you will be able to take a seat at that table before it is offered to an unseated player on the sign up board.

##### Buying the Button

If you return to the table after the big blind has passed you but not the small blind, you will be allowed to "buy the button" by posting an amount equal to the big and small blinds. This will allow you to play in that hand and be eligible to play your button on the next hand. When you "buy the button" the players who would normally post the small blind and big blind will not be required to do so on that hand. Once you get the button, the person to your left will post the small blind and the person to the left of the small blind will post the big blind.

When you buy the button only the big blind portion of your bet is considered to be your bet and the small blind portion is pulled into the pot. Also if you return to the table and want to play before the big blind reaches you, it will require a small and big blind amount as well. For that reason, I prefer not to buy the button, but wait two hands and then put the chips equivalent to the small & large blind in the pot when I am in the cutoff position, just ahead of the button. If I am going to be required to post this amount, I would prefer to do so in late position, where I have a distinct positional advantage.

##### Blind Adjustments

If a player leaves on their button, the button is moved to the person who would have been required to post the small blind. This person will then post the small blind on the button and have the next two players to the left both post big blinds. The next hand those players will both post small blinds and the player to the left of the last small blind will post the big blind. This enables the blinds to get caught up and go back to the normal arrangement.

##### Absence from the Table

If you need to leave the table for any reason, play will continue in your absence. If you miss your big or small blind, then the dealer will place a token on the table for you indicating that you have missed the big blind or the small blind. When you return to the table you can either wait for the big blind or post an amount equal to the blind or blinds you missed. If both blinds are posted in this manner, the amount of the big blind is live and the amount of the small blind pulled into the pot and not considered as part of your bet. However, the big blind posting amount is live and you may check or raise when it is your turn to bet.

You can leave the table at any time without relinquishing your seat for a specified time or for a specified number of missed blinds. If there is a list for your game, you may be "picked up" if you exceed this limit. If you are "picked up", a house person will come over and pick up your chips and keep them for you at the main counter. Your seat will then be given to a new player.

Even if you have not been absent from the table long enough to be picked up, or there is no list for your game, you may be excluded from participating in the table share of a bad beat jackpot if you have been absent for a certain number of hands. You may also be excluded in participating in a splash pot if you have not been dealt into the last couple of hands or the hand that triggered the splash pot.

If you have used up all of your chips and need to leave the table to get more money, tell the dealer to hold your seat until you return. The dealer will put a "no-player button" in your place, which will preclude anyone from taking your seat until you return. However, you are expected to return within the time limits specified above.

It is common for players to leave the table occasionally to go to the restroom, go to lunch, go for a smoke, or just walk around and exercise their legs. If you leave the table, you can do so without concern about your chips. I have neither seen nor heard about anyone having their chips tampered with while they are absent from the table.

However, in one large casino poker room with a lot of tables, I had been absent from the table for a short period of time and then returned to the table in my seat six position. There was a different dealer and players I didn't recognize but that is common as dealers and players are always changing. My chips also appeared to be the same as when I had left. After a few minutes, I realized that I was one table away from the one I had left earlier. Fortunately I had not played any hands or touched the chips of the absent player who's seat I had taken. I quickly moved back to my own table and considered myself lucky that I recognized the mistake before taking any action and before the absent player returned and found some interloper sitting in their seat and playing their chips.

Even though you are allowed to be away from the table without relinquishing your seat, it is very rude to keep your seat at the table while you go out and play blackjack or some other casino game and just come back to the poker table long enough to start the clock again on your length of absence, especially when there are players waiting on the list to get on your table. This is not fair to those who are waiting to get into the game or those players at the table who must play short handed because of your absence.

I was playing late at night at a casino poker table with about four of the players absent from the table at the same time. These players were not away eating, smoking or exercising their legs. They were playing other casino games or visiting with people away from the table to fill their time. There was a waiting list for our table so there was really no reason that we had to play short handed and post a blind on two of every five hands. We complained to the dealer, but he said as long as these absent players came back to the table and played a few hands every so often there was nothing he could do to get them to sit down and play or have their chips picked up.

To make matters worse, we couldn't even get them to drop the rake since the players chips were there and it appeared we had a full table. Even if you avoid being picked up, this type of inconsideration will damage your reputation with other players, dealers and floor people as well. To alleviate this problem, some casino poker rooms have started to use the "third man walking" policy. This policy will be explained in section 2.4 of this chapter.

## Section 2.3

# After the Fat Lady Sings

When the hand is over, the dealer will push the pot to the winner or winners of the pot. If two or more players have the same hand, the dealer will split the pot so that an equal amount is given to each of the winning players. If there are not enough chips to distribute them equally, the odd chips will be given to the player or players immediately to the left of the dealer button.

Under no circumstances should a player pull chips toward themselves. When all of the hands are disclosed at the end of the last betting round the dealer will identify the winning hand or hands and turn all inferior hands over into the muck. Since the dealer will sometimes make a mistake, do not relinquish your holding until you are confident that you have been beaten. Once your holding has been raked into the muck it is dead and cannot be retrieved.

##### Mistakes & Disputes

If the dealer makes a mistake or there is a dispute at the table for which the dealer's ruling is not acceptable to the players involved, the dealer will call for a floor person to come over to the table and make a final ruling. Once the floor person has gathered all of the facts from the dealer and the players, they will render a decision on what needs to be done. All play is stopped until this ruling is made and if there is a dispute about who should win the pot, it is left in the middle of the table pending the decision.

In rare cases when a player disputes the facts of the final ruling made by the floor person, an instant replay of the hand in question may be requested from the video of the hand taken by the overhead cameras, which are used in most casino poker rooms. The floor person's ruling may also be appealed to the poker room manager if he or she is not the floor person rendering the decision. The reviewing of the tape by the floor person is like an instant replay in a football game. So that play at the table can continue while the tape is reviewed, the pot in question will be set aside until after the review is made.

##### Disclosing Your Cards

At the end of the hand the dealer will ask players to disclose their cards. The player to make the last bet or raise is required to divulge their cards first. If your hand is better than the one disclosed, you will need to show it in order to win the pot. You are not required to show your cards at the end of the round. If someone displays a hand better than you hold, you may just surrender your holding face down without divulging what those cards are. Most poker players will not divulge their holdings unless they have a winning hand as this gives information to other players about what they play and how they play. However, any player at the table can ask the dealer to show all called hands. In this case the dealer will take the folded holding and tap it on the muck so that the hand is officially dead and then turn the cards over to show the holdings in question.

##### Cards Call Themselves

However, you should be aware of the "cards call themselves" provision where if you turn your holding face up, it declares your hand. Even if you do not see what your best hand is, the dealer or any other player at the table can point out that you have a straight or flush and that hand is live and eligible to win the pot. Even if another player has seen your holding and knows you have a specific hand, they are not allowed to tell you unless you lay your cards down on the table face up at the end of the hand.

A few years back I was playing in a seven card stud game at a local casino. After my final bet was called, I turned over a jack, which along with two jacks already turned up in my hand made three-of-a-kind. The lady I was playing with heads-up surrendered her three down cards face down because she thought she could not beat three jacks. Speaking to me, the dealer said "you need to turn all your cards up," since I had only divulged the third jack. The lady thought he was talking to both of us, so she reached out and grabbed the cards she had surrendered and turned them face up. One of the other players at the table saw that she had folded a straight and pointed that out to the dealer.

The dealer ruled that her hand was still live since it had not touched the muck and gave her the pot. It was a controversial call, but points out two things. First, most poker rooms require you to turn over all your down cards before they will award you the pot, if you have been called. Second, it is sometimes wise to turn over your holding, especially if you are a new to the game and might misread your hand.

##### Tipping the Dealer

Some players give large tips to the dealer when they win a pot, but I seldom tip more than one dollar in a small stakes game. For a very large pot or a hand that qualifies for aces cracked or a splash pot, I will tip more. If the pot has only a few chips, I may not tip at all. As mentioned earlier, it is also common to tip the chip runners if they bring you chips from the cashier's cage, although this is not necessarily expected.

##### Slow Rolling

Another Pokerish no-no is called "slow rolling." This is where a player intentionally does not disclose the winning hand until everyone else has disclosed theirs. In this case another player may feel that they have won the hand until the slow roller does a "gotcha" by then turning over the winning hand. Although slow rolling is not usually a violation of the poker room rules it is considered very bad form and will almost always earn you the wrath of all the other players at the table. If you just want to see what your opponents were playing, you can just tell the dealer you want to see all called hands before anyone discards their holdings.

##### Show One Show All

You should also be aware of the "show one show all" provision which exists at virtually all poker rooms. That provision is that even if you have not been called and have no requirement to show your holding to win the pot, any player at the table can request that the dealer make you show your holding if you have shown it to any other player. Thus, if you don't want the other players to know what you are folding, just surrender it face down and not divulge any information to your opponents. If you want to show it to your neighbor, you should be ready to share it with the rest of the table as well. 

## Section 2.4

# Kill Pots, Overs Buttons & Straddles

A poker room may or may not allow kill pots, overs buttons, or live straddles in their games. When these variations on the game are in effect, they can impact the way the hand is played. Even though these variations impact the play of the hand, and the ultimate size of the pot, they are not considered to be either a jackpot or a promotion. That is because they do not involve any poker room contribution or any of the funds created by a jackpot drop.

##### Hold'em Kill Pots

Some poker rooms will play with a kill button which is awarded to the player who has won the last pot. On one side the button will be blank or say "Leg Up" or "No Kill" and on the other side it will say "Kill" or "Kill Pot". If that player wins the next pot and that pot qualifies for a kill, the button is flipped over to the "Kill Pot" side and that player will have to post a bet on the kill button before the hand is dealt. If two players split the pot then they both have a leg up and if one of them wins the next hand, and it qualifies, that player will then post the kill.

If the poker room is playing a full kill, the amount will be double the amount of the big blind. If the poker room is playing a half kill, the amount would be 150% of the amount of the big blind. Thus, on a four-eight table the full kill would be $8 and a half kill would be $6. Play for that hand then is played at 200% or 150% of the normal stakes. If the poker room has a full kill, then a four-eight game becomes an eight-sixteen game for that hand.

To qualify for a kill pot, the second consecutive win by the same player needs to be over a specified amount, usually ten times the amount of the big blind. Be aware that this amount includes the house rake for that pot as well as the amount actually won by the player. The value of the first hand does not matter, only the amount of the second win. If the same player wins again, it will usually remain a kill pot regardless of the amount in the last pot won. This will continue until someone else wins the pot. However, some casino poker rooms will only continue the kill by the same winner if the last pot won is also at the qualifying level. The kill pot button will also usually remain with the last winner if the small and large blind chop the pot and a subsequent hand is not played.

The "killer's bet" is placed on the kill button before the cards are dealt. The small and big blinds are posted at the same amount as they would be in a non-kill pot hand. If the player to the left of the big blind wants to call or raise, this amount must be in accordance with the new kill pot limits.

The killer's bet is live and they may raise when it is their turn to act. If a player has raised before the killer acts, then the killer must act when their turn comes. If the pot is not raised before the killer acts, then the killer may either check or raise when their turn comes. Some poker rooms will let the killer have last action if they do not have a raise before it is their turn. When the action gets to the small and big blinds, they must add the amount necessary to satisfy the kill pot betting limits if they want to play in that hand.

##### Omaha Kill Pots

In an Omaha high-low game a kill pot will normally be awarded to a player who wins both the high and low portions of a single hand or wins the whole pot because there is no qualifying low hand. Since the same player does not have to win two consecutive pots to qualify for the kill pot, they are much more common in Omaha. Since many of the pots in Omaha are kill pots, a four-eight game actually becomes an eight-sixteen game much of the time. Other than that the kill pot betting structure and process is the same as it would be in hold'em

##### Kill Pot Fever

For some reason players in both hold'em and Omaha games get excited about a kill pot, even though they are required to play it at a higher betting structure than the table they signed up for. Perhaps it is because there is some extra money in the pot before the hand begins. At any rate, the size of kill pots get much larger than normal.

If a hand involves a kill pot, it may impact that hand in several different ways. A tight player, especially in early position, may not play a less than premium hand because of the possibility that the cost of the investment will be inordinately high at the kill pot betting limits. A loose player, especially in late position, may play a less than premium hand because of the possibility to win a large pot, since the amount of money already in the pot from the small blind, big blind, and killer do not reflect the value of those hands.

##### Overs Buttons

Some poker rooms allow players to request an "overs button," which indicates their desire to play at a higher level than than normally allowed at the table. That button will be placed on the table in front that player's chips. The overs button has no effect on the betting as long as there is one player in the hand without an overs button. If, however, all the remaining players in a hand have overs buttons, then the betting limits can double or go up to the specified amount of the overs button. I have seen the overs button used in two different ways in casino poker rooms as explained below.

The first is as a specific amount, which can be bet on any street. For example, on a four-eight table the overs button may be $20. That does not mean that the betting levels automatically go up to that level, it just means that a bet or raise of up to $20 is allowed at any time, and on any street, when all the remaining players have overs buttons.

The second example is where the overs button doubles the betting level and is mandatory for all players when the only players remaining in the hand have an overs button. So a four-eight game would become an eight-sixteen game as soon as all of the remaining players in the hand had an overs button. In this situation the overs button players do not have a choice about the betting limits as they would under the first example given above.

If you do not feel comfortable playing at the higher limit represented by the overs button, stand your ground and make sure that you do not let other players at your table coerce of cajole you into taking one. Let the players with the overs buttons go to a higher limit table if they want to consistently play for higher stakes. You can also ask to be put on the list for a table change for another table with the same limits. If you do take an overs button, and later decide it is not what you want to do, you can give it back to the dealer before the next hand is dealt.

One of the worst mistakes a poker player can make is to play at a betting level at which they are not comfortable. Doing so will change the way they play and usually result in both a financial loss and an uncomfortable playing experience as well. The more experienced poker players at your table will notice that you are out of your element and take advantage of that situation just as they would if they think that you are "on tilt" or on a "losing streak." Complaining about your bad luck or showing your good losing cards to gain sympathy will just wet the appetite of the "sharks" who can usually smell blood in the water.

There are two reasons that players choose to play at a four-eight table and get an overs button rather than just play at an eight-sixteen table. The first reason is that there are usually a great number of four-eight tables in the poker room and may be very few or no eight-sixteen tables available. The second reason is that this will enable them to get into higher stakes pots (with other overs button players) when they have a good hand, without requiring them to post the higher blinds that would be required in an eight-sixteen game. Since the rake will be capped at $3, the larger the pot is, the lower the rake will be as a percentage of the pot.

##### Button Madness

By this point in the book you may start to wonder how the players and the dealer can keep track of all the different kinds of buttons used at a poker table. First, all of the buttons have a distinctive label on them denoting what that button represents. Second, the buttons are usually differentiated by size and color.

For example, the overs button just referenced will not only be labeled "overs." it will usually be very large, thin, and yellow. The dealers button will not only be labeled "dealer," but will be medium sized, thick, and white with black lettering. The kill button will not only be labeled "kill," it will be about the size of the dealer button, thin, and colored red with white lettering. All of the other buttons (no player, missed blind, seat change, third man walking, etc.) are smaller with different colors and have the appropriate titles on the buttons.

##### Live Straddles

The normal live straddle made by the player to the immediate left of the big blind was explained in section 1.1 of chapter 1. Not all card rooms will allow a live straddle, although it is a very common component of flop games like Texas hold'em and Omaha. While most card rooms allow a live straddle, fewer will allow progressive straddles and button straddles. At some casinos, they will not let you straddle unless you have enough chips to raise your own straddle.

##### Progressive Straddles

The progressive straddle is where the player to the left of a straddle posts another straddle, which would be one bet more than the amount of the previous straddle. The player next in the betting sequence can then post another straddle by adding the amount of chips which would represent a single bet at the lower tier of betting. This can continue around the table. In some games this becomes a bravado move to get a large pot started.

If the card room does not allow progressive straddles, then each of these wagers is considered to be a blind raise and is not a live bet. If progressive straddles are allowed, they are considered to be live and the straddler is allowed to raise their own bet. Also since live straddles are considered to be a bet and not a raise, three raises are allowed after the last straddle.

##### Button Straddles

The button straddle is where a player is allowed to post a live straddle before the cards are dealt if they are on the dealer button. At some casinos the small and large blinds are still posted at the regular rate, but any player wanting to enter the hand after the big blind must post a bet the size of the straddle to call. If a player wants to raise, the raise must be at least one bet beyond the straddled amount. The straddler may then raise their own straddle when their turn comes. When the betting gets around to the small and large blinds, they must call (or raise) if they want to play in the hand. Unlike the non-live blind raises explained earlier, the button may not post a raise until it is their turn to act if button straddles are not allowed.

At other casinos, first action is on the small blind directly in front of the button straddle. If they want to play in the hand where the player on the button has placed a button straddle, they must increase their small blind up to the straddled amount or fold their hand. Next the big blind must also match the straddled level or fold. Of course either of these blinds could also raise the straddle if their hand warranted a raise over a blind straddle by the player on the button.

## Section 2.5

# Jackpots and Promotions

This section will look at variations on the normal game of poker, which may be played or awarded by the poker room to attract customers and create interest. Some of these activities may be funded by the poker room, but most are supported by a special drop of from $1 to $3 per hand, which goes into a dedicated fund for poker promotions and jackpots. The most common jackpots and promotions are listed below along with observations about how these activities will affect normal play.

##### Hold'em Bad Beat Jackpots

To win a "bad beat jackpot" a player must have a qualifying hand that is beaten by a higher qualifying hand with a qualifying size pot. At one poker room I play at, the qualifying hand for the beaten hand is an aces full of tens full house or better beaten by four of a kind or better. Another poker room I play at requires only an aces full of tens full house beaten by a higher hand. In all cases both of the player's holding cards in both hands must play.

With the requirement of aces full of tens or better beaten by a better hand, the most common situation is when both players have a high pocket pair and three aces come on the board. It is also common to have two players with an ace and a high card and have the board show two aces and the two high cards.

With the requirement of Aces full of tens or better beaten by quads, the most common situation is for one player to have a pocket pair of tens or higher and the other to have an ace and a playable kicker. At one casino, if three aces come on the board the dealer will stop play and call over a floor person to observe before continuing action on that hand. In this situation the kicker with the ace in a player's holding becomes very important.

At one table where I was playing, we had a made bad beat on the turn with one player holding an ace-queen and another holding pocket jacks with three aces and a lower card on the board. The river card was a king and the queen kicker no longer played so the bad beat jackpot was not awarded. In another hand at the same casino, a player had an ace-four and his four kicker played because the board had three aces a deuce and a four. Since another player had pocket tens the bad beat pot was awarded.

There is usually a specified amount of chips that are required in the pot to qualify the hand as a bad beat pot. The normal distribution of the bad beat pot is 50% to the player who is beaten, 25% to the winning hand and 25% divided amongst the remaining players at the table. Bad beat jackpots can get to $25,000 or $30,000 before they are hit. After the bad beat jackpot is hit it goes back to a minimum level of say $7,500 and then grows from there. At some casino poker rooms they may cap the bad beat jackpot at a certain level like $25,000 and then start building the backup jackpot amount. At one casino we had two backup bad beat jackpots that were already at the $25,000 cap level.

I have been involved in several bad beat jackpots. Normally I just got a table share, which still amounted to several hundred dollars even though the non-involved players had to split 25% of the jackpot. I had several bad beats where I was the one to win the pot and got 25% of the jackpot. I have only had one bad beat where I got 50% of a $24,000 bad beat jackpot. I had quad tens beaten by quad jacks. If that casino would have had a super bad beat jackpot, as they later did, I could have won 50% of a $132,000 jackpot.

It is important to note that the highest hand beaten must be a qualifying hand or it will void a jackpot. So even if there is a lower qualifying hand, which can use both of the holding cards but the intermediate one can't, the jackpot will not be awarded. If there are two qualifying hands which are beaten the highest one will get 50% of the jackpot and the lower qualifying hand will only get the table share.

In one four-eight hold'em game I was dealt pocket nines and called the aggressive pre-flop bets and raises of two of my opponents. The flop came A-K-9. Since I had flopped a set, I bet it aggressively and the betting was also capped on the flop. The turn card was a king giving me a full house. However, one of my opponents held pocket aces and the other held pocket kings. We had all flopped a set and two of us had made a full house on the turn and the third had made quads. We had a qualifying hand for a bad beat jackpot on the turn. My only chance of getting the big share of the jackpot was to hit my fourth nine on the river. It did not come and I got only table share, which I badly needed to compensate me for all the money I had lost on the hand. If I would have hit my quad nines, the aces full of kings full house would have only gotten the table share.

Some players will recommend that if you suspect that there is a made bad beat jackpot on your table, that you fold a high non-qualifying hand. For example if you held a Q-J and the board showed three aces and a jack you would have an aces full of jacks full house, but it would not qualify for a bad beat because only one of your holding cards would play. If another player had an A-K holding and another had a T-T holding you would void the jackpot if you did not fold your hand.

If you do get to the showdown and someone shows a higher hand, just muck your non-qualifying hand before a qualifying beaten hand is shown. However, at the casino that calls the floor person over to observe the action when there are three aces on the board, the house person will ask to see all called hands to make sure someone does not muck a non-qualifying hand to facilitate a bad beat jackpot.

##### Hold'em Super Bad Beat Jackpots

In addition to a regular bad beat jackpot, a poker room may offer a super bad beat jackpot. To qualify for this jackpot a player with quads (four-of-a-kind) or better must be beaten by a higher hand. Some poker rooms may require any quads and some will require quad sevens or quad tens or higher for the beaten hand. As with regular bad beat jackpots, both cards in both players holdings must play and there must be a qualifying amount in the pot.

If a poker room has a super bad beat jackpot, it will have a separate jackpot amount from the regular bad beat jackpot. The payout for a super bad beat jackpot will normally be much higher than the payout for the regular bad beat jackpot, because it will be hit much less frequently. It is very common to see a super bad beat jackpot reach well over $100,000.

##### Omaha Bad Beat Jackpots

To qualify for an Omaha jackpot a player will usually have to have quads beaten by a higher hand where both cards in both holdings must play and there a qualifying amount in the pot. The reason is that when a player has nine cards rather than seven cards to make their hand, higher hands are more common. There is usually a separate jackpot amount for Omaha.

##### Aces Cracked

Some poker rooms will award a consolation prize to a player who starts out with the best holding before the flop and gets beaten. For this jackpot a player must have pocket aces beaten to qualify for an aces cracked payout. This would usually be a $100 award. To qualify the player must stay in the hand until the showdown to claim this award. The hand which beats the aces does not have to play both of their holding cards.

However, there will usually be a minimum amount in the pot before the aces cracked jackpot will be awarded. I have slow played my aces in a low limit game to keep from driving out a potential winner and when I was beaten the pot was not large enough to qualify. The last time there were four clubs on the board after the river and neither of my aces was a club. We were heads up and the player acting before me checked. Since I didn't realize that the qualifying amount in the pot had not been reached I checked behind him.

He actually had the four of clubs and won the hand with a flush, but I did not get the jackpot because of the pot size. He indicated that he would not have called my bet, had I made one, because he would have put me on a higher club. So there was no way the pot could have increased to the qualifying level. However, if I would have bet, he would have folded and I would have at least won the small pot.

In a low limit game with a $100 aces cracked jackpot, it is usually better to have your aces cracked than to win the pot. For this reason a player with pocket aces will usually not raise before the flop or during the subsequent rounds since they don't want to drive anyone out of the hand in hopes that some other player will get a better hand. Some poker rooms will have "aces cracked" as a permanent fixture in their promotional offerings and others may just offer this promotion on certain days or certain hours of operation.

Also, in a low limit hold'em game offering aces cracked, the player who is dealt pocket aces will have the expectation of either winning the pot or getting the aces cracked jackpot. However, sometimes this is not the case. I was at a four-eight hold'em table with the aces cracked promotion running and a player with pocket aces actually lost money. The hand ended with a nine high straight on the board. Since none of us had a ten, the pot was split evenly between all of us including the guy with pocket aces.

Because the player with the pocket aces had not raised before or after the flop with his aces, the pot was relatively small and there was no dead money from players who had folded. After deducting the house rake and jackpot drop all of the players lost money on the hand. Because the player with the pocket aces did not lose the hand he did not receive the aces cracked jackpot. However, at some casinos they would have given this player the aces cracked jackpot, since he did not win the pot. Because a player with pocket aces may not raise, in hopes that someone else will make a better hand, many of the pots won will not be very large.

In a recent four-eight game I was dealt pocket aces and just called the big blind. The flop brought a queen and two smaller cards. An early position player bet the flop and several players, including myself, made the call. The turn brought a second queen and again the early position player bet out. This time only two of us called and I was already counting the $100 for getting my aces cracked by trip queens or a full house. The river card was a blank and the early position player bet the river and was called by two of us.

To my amazement the early position player did not have three queens or a hand that would beat my aces and queens two pair. However, I did have to split the pot with the third player who also had pocket aces and had the same hand as I did. The casino had just changed their rules so I and the other player with pocket aces would have each won $100 if our pocket aces had been cracked. Under the previous rules we would have had to split the $100 and each gotten only $50.

In another four-eight hold'em game, I was holding pocket kings in the "hijack" position. I raised and was called by the button and several players in early position who had called the blind. The flop came K-9-7 with two diamonds and an early position player bet. I raised with my top set, since I had the nut hand and didn't want to give anyone a free draw at a diamond flush. I was called by the button and the early position player who had made the initial bet. The turn was a deuce, which put two clubs on the board. I again bet my nut set of kings and was called by the other two players. The river card was the ace of spaces and the early position player checked to me. I was pleased that the river card neither brought a flush nor a straight, so I bet the three kings again and was raised by the button.

I thought that he had hit his ace kicker on the river and held A-K, A-9, A-7 or had been slow playing a set of sevens or nines since the flop, so I re-raised him again. When he re-raised me the second time, I knew that he had been passively playing pocket aces, hoping to get them cracked and get a $100 jackpot. This is the only holding which would beat my set of kings. When the ace fell on the river, his set of aces became the "nut" hand and the pot ended up being larger than the $100 jackpot he had been planning to win.

The lesson here is that the player with pocket aces will usually not raise, or give any indication they have a strong holding in a low limit game, when the aces cracked promotion is in effect. They will also not fold their pocket aces to a bet or raise, since they will usually either win the pot or the jackpot, regardless of what hand you have.

This promotion is usually not extended to Omaha games even in casino poker rooms which have this provision running for hold'em games. Again it is because it is much easier to get your aces cracked in an Omaha game than it is in a hold'em game. However, at one Arizona casino they offered a $100 Omaha jackpot to any player who had a 6-4-3-2-A low hand and was beaten by a 5-4-3-2-A wheel straight. This promotion also involved a $100 splash pot following the jackpot.

##### Aces and Faces

This promotion is very similar to the aces cracked promotion explained above. For this promotion you would get a $100 consolation prize if your pocket aces, kings, queens, or jacks were beaten. However, the promotion would start at a specific time and when one of these were hit it would be closed. So if your pocket kings were cracked you would get the $100 but then the kings cracked jackpot would be over. The aces cracked, queens cracked and jacks cracked promotions would continue until they were hit. Once all four of the jackpots were hit the promotion would be over until it was offered again usually on a different day.

##### Splash Pots

A "splash pot" is where the poker room selects one or more tables and then puts a specified amount of chips in the center of the table to become part of the pot for the next hand to be played. This is usually a $50 or $100 splash. This may be done at specified times during the day or when an event happens, such as the home team scoring in a televised game being shown in the poker room. The splash pot may be for all tables or just selected tables chosen by drawing a token from all the active tables in the poker room.

At my regular casino in Arizona they now put out a $50 splash pot on the table after a player on that table has been awarded a $100 aces cracked jackpot. However, only those players who were dealt in for the hand where the aces were cracked will be eligible to play in the splash pot.

A splash pot changes the dynamics of the game by drastically changing the pot odds in a low stakes game. Since the pot is already seeded with a substantial amount of chips, and the expectation of the ultimate pot size is at play as well, no player is likely to fold before the flop regardless of their holding. Thus, raising before the flop with pocket aces will seldom narrow the field so most players will not do so just to thin the field.

In fact if there are raises before the flop they will usually be called by all players who want to wait until after they have seen the flop to fold their hand. Since this insures that all nine or ten players at the table will see the flop, the value of a high pocket pair diminishes in its value to win the pot. Also raising and re-raising before the flop with all players calling, plus the initial splash chips, creates such a large pot that no player will probably fold even though they have a very "thin draw".

However, sometimes this dynamic may work to your advantage when you flop a strong hand with your high pair or other raising cards. Here you want the other players to stay in and build you a nice pot.

##### Royal Flushes

A royal flush is an A-K-Q-J-T straight all of the same suit. Some poker rooms will give a player a cash jackpot or a memento for getting a royal flush and some do not. To qualify for a royal flush jackpot the player must be able to use both of the cards in their holding to make the royal flush. There is usually a qualifying amount of chips which must be in the pot as well.

In the poker rooms where I have played, the awards for a royal flush have gone from nothing but the pot to a casino logo hat, a casino logo jacket, and cash jackpots ranging from $200 to $5,000. I have had sixteen qualifying royal flush hands in casino poker rooms and have won several hats, a flight bag, one $500 jackpot, and a whole bunch of $200 jackpots and certificates. At one poker room I was informed that my royal flush qualified me for an engraved cigarette lighter. The house man then gave me a book of matches with the poker room logo embossed on it and then he and the other players laughed until their eyes watered.

I missed my seventeenth royal flush by just one hand. I had played the Jh-Th twice that day in hopes of hitting a royal flush and getting a jackpot. On the first occasion I hit the Ah-Qh on the flop but never hit the Kh. On the second occasion I hit the Kh on the flop and did not improve on either the turn or the river. I usually played at this casino until at least 3:00 PM every day. However, on this particular day I already had a nice profit and left at 2:30 PM to beat the work traffic. The player who sat down and took my seat was dealt the Jh-Th on the first hand he played. However, this time the dealer flopped the Ah-Kh-Qh giving the new player an instant royal flush while I was still cashing out and gathering up my stuff to leave. Very bad timing.

Some poker rooms just have a set jackpot amount which goes to any qualifying royal flush. Other poker rooms may treat this jackpot like a bad beat jackpot and start out from a minimum award and grow the jackpot up to a specified maximum or until the jackpot has been hit. A poker room may also have one jackpot for a red royal flush in hearts or diamonds and another for a black royal flush in clubs or spades. Thus, the jackpot for a red royal flush might be $5,000 and the jackpot for a black royal flush might be only $300.

At my regular casino in Arizona they now have a separate jackpot for each suit where the jackpot starts at $200 and then grows until it is hit. I have seen some of the jackpots grow to $1,500 before they were hit. This is the same casino where I have hit all of the $200 royal flush jackpots. I am hoping to hit another one at the new rates and in the right suit.

A royal flush jackpot can change the play of a hand in which one player has a royal flush or a royal flush draw. I have only hit one royal flush on the flop and so did not have to worry about being beat in the hand regardless of what cards came on the turn and the river. So I just called and let the other players bet or check, because I was going to win a $500 jackpot and did not want to get a reputation for being greedy and taking advantage of defenseless players on the table.

In another game I held a Js-Ts and the flop came As-Kc-Qs. So I had flopped an ace high straight and four legs to a royal flush. I, thus, had the best hand and the second nut flush draw as well. I just checked so that I would not get anyone out of the hand and ruin my chances to get a royal flush and a $200 prize. The turn brought the Ks giving me my royal flush and putting a second king on the board. This gave one player three kings with an ace kicker and the other a full house. Even though I just called their bets and raises they built me a nice pot.

In my last royal flush I held the Qs-Js and the flop brought the As-Ts-3s. I had flopped the second nut flush and a royal flush draw. Again the turn brought the Ks and completed my royal flush. I did not bet the flop because of the possibility of hitting a royal flush and a $200 jackpot. Since there was already enough money in the pot to qualify for the award I just gave the other players some "air" and checked it down. On the flop I took a chance, because if a fourth spade had come, or the board would have paired, my flush might have been beaten.

The point is that with the certainty or possibility of winning a royal flush jackpot a player will play differently than they would without that jackpot being available. I also wanted to convey the fact that if you make quads or better early in the hand, you may damage your reputation in that poker room if you punish your opponents with a no risk hand, especially if there is a jackpot award for that hand.

This is certainly not a violation of any rules but looked at like a football coach who punishes the opposing team by keeping the first string in the game and running up the score even though his team has a winning advantage already. Of course if you are "heads up" with a player who has a reputation as a bully or a slow roller, those feelings might change. In this case you may become a hero at the table by "sticking it" to the unpopular player and giving them a taste of their own medicine.

##### Straight Flush Wheels

The straight flush wheel is an A-2-3-4-5 straight all in the same suit. Some casinos will award this jackpot to any player who gets this hand with two qualifiers in the holding and a qualifying amount in the pot. Actually the chances of getting one of these is the same as getting a royal flush. As with a royal flush, there may be one jackpot amount for a red straight flush wheel in hearts or diamonds and another for a black straight flush wheel in spades or clubs.

Like a player who has made or has the possibility of making a royal flush, playing for a straight flush wheel might cause the player to make different choices than they would without this jackpot as an incentive. A player with a holding, which had two large suited cards that could complete a royal flush would still have a hand that could complete a high flush, a high straight or some other high hand, even if the royal flush did not come. By contrast, the player who had a holding, which included two low suited cards that could complete a straight flush wheel might create a low flush, a low straight or some other low hand that could get the player in trouble rather than get them a winning hand.

When this jackpot was in place, I have played two low suited cards, because of the possibly of winning a $700 jackpot when I would not normally play those two starting cards. I might play an ace and a low suited card from late position in an un-raised pot, but usually not any of the others. This can be very expensive in a hand with raises before the flop, but could also create a very disguised hand.

As with other hold'em jackpots, both of your holding cards must play to qualify for the jackpot. One player at my table held an As-2s and the flop came 3s-4s-5s giving him a straight flush wheel on the flop. The turn card was a 6s taking his Ace out of play, since his best hand was now a 6 high straight flush with only his 2s playing from his holding. This not only voided any jackpot for a straight flush wheel, but also the prize for any straight flush, since only one of his holding cards played in his best hand. He did win the pot, although if another player had a 7s in their hand he would have lost the hand as well. However, if another player would have had a holding of a 6s-7s, we would have had a qualifying super bad beat jackpot on the flop.

I hit a straight flush wheel in a seven card stud eight and below game. I was down to about twenty dollars in chips before the hand started and had made a decision to wait until the hand was over to see if I needed to buy more chips. As a consequence, I won both the high and low portions of the main pot, but did not get the side pot, which was much larger than the main pot. The side pot was split between a queen high flush and a six-five low. The lesson here is to always have enough chips at the start of a hand to maximize your winnings if you do run into a very nice hand.

##### Quads

At one casino I played at, you would win a jackpot for any four-of-a-kind as long as you had a two legs to the quads in your holding and there was a qualifying amount in the pot. In another casino, the quads had to be nine or above. If the amount of the jackpot for quad deuces was substantial, you might call a raise with pocket deuces to see if you picked up a deuce on the flop. If you did pick up a set on the flop, you would probably stay in to the river so see if you could make your quads or perhaps a winning full house even if you suspected that another player had made a straight or a flush, which would beat your set. Even if you did not suspect a higher hand, you might not bet your set for fear it would cause the other players to fold and ruin your chances for a jackpot, especially if there were no "scare cards" on the board.

This can create a very difficult situation for an opponent to read. If, for example, you held pocket aces and an ace came on the flop. Here you would have top set and a chance to win several hundred dollars for a quad ace jackpot on top of winning a nice pot. While it is usually best to bet your set to protect your hand, in this situation you may just check, even if you raised before the flop. This can be very deceiving to an opponent, who now thinks that you do not even have a single ace in your holding. They then conclude that you must have raised on a holding, which did not include an ace and encourage them to pound the pot with their pocket kings or to represent that they are the one with an ace in their holding. This can lead to some very heavy betting on the turn and the river, where the board may pair improving the opponents hand and disguising the fact that you have the nut full house.

I have had this happen often with pocket aces, kings, and queens, where my opponent is totally blind sided by my well disguised nut full house or quads. On one occasion, I made my quad aces on the river and just checked my jackpot hand to another player to give him air. The pair of aces on the board had given him a full house and he bet his hand. Still being benevolent, I just called and showed him my quad aces. I have also found myself as the one looking like a deer in the headlights, when my opponents show me their well disguised full house or quads.

The first time a quad jackpot was hit, the player would get the amount indicated for that jackpot and it would become the candidate for a "daily double" jackpot, which was usually larger than the initial jackpot. Thus, if quad nines were the first one hit for that day, then the next player to hit quad nines on the same day would get the daily double. If quad kings were hit twice on the same day they would not qualify for a daily double, because they were not the first quads hit that day.

The next day the jackpots for the hands, which had been recently hit would be small and need to grow to a larger size. Thus, on any given day, hitting quad tens might garner a larger jackpot than hitting quad aces. At one casino, I won $1,000 for quad kings. Since they had not been hit for some time, the jackpot was capped at that amount. This was twice what I received for my highest royal flush jackpot.

##### High Hands

Some poker rooms have a jackpot for the highest poker hand recorded during a specific time period. There is usually a minimum full house level, which will qualify for this jackpot. The players name and high hand will then be put up on the board until it is either bettered or the hand makes it to the designated time cutoff and wins the jackpot. There may be one or two backup positions as well. For instance the high hand could be for $200, the second high hand would get $100 and the third high hand get $50. If your high hand was bettered before the time period elapsed, you might then be moved down from first place to second place or even third place.

This is actually a very good promotion for the poker room. If a player has a high hand on the board, they will probably stick around and continue to play, because most of the time the poker room requires that you be in a game, or at least present, when the high hand jackpots are awarded. This will sometimes change the way the high hand candidate plays, if they are just biding their time until the clock runs down on their jackpot. In this case, they may only play jackpot hands or at least very strong starting hands.

Like other jackpots, most card rooms offering this promotion require both cards in the players holding to play. Even those casinos, which do not require both holding cards to qualify for a high hand, usually require a qualifying amount in the pot. At our table, one player had pocket jacks and called the blind, but all the rest of us folded our holdings. Since he had the chance to win a jackpot for the quad jacks and get on the board with a high hand, he did not raise before the flop and cause the big blind, which was the only other player in the hand, to fold. The flop brought him quad jacks, but did not improve the other player's hand. The player with the quad jacks was still concerned that a bet would cause the other player to fold so he just checked hoping the other player would at some point make a hand or bluff at the pot.

On the river, the big blind checked and the player with the quad jacks bet to try and increase the size of the pot. As expected, the big blind folded to the bet. This poker room did not play a small blind, so only the $4 big blind and the $4 call was in the pot. His last $8 bet did not become part of the pot, because it was not called. Since the minimum qualifying amount was $10, he did not win the jackpot for quad jacks or qualify to be included as the high hand for the day. I ended up winning the $100 high hand jackpot with quad nines.

Some poker rooms will let you divulge that you have a jackpot draw and ask for a bet or a call, but others will not. If another player gives you a courtesy call or bet, it is expected that you will give them their money back. If the pot is small and the high hand jackpot is large, some players will push the pot to the player who helped them get the pot large enough to qualify for the jackpot. Again some poker rooms will let you do this above the table and others will not. Always find out how these situations are handled if you are playing at a poker room that you have not played at before.

A poker room may also use this promotion to get players to play hours that they would otherwise not play without this jackpot. At one casino I play at, they have an early morning high hand jackpot that cuts off at 8:00 AM. This gets a number of early-bird players into the poker room, because when there are just a few tables, the players stand a better chance of winning the jackpots with smaller hands. The high hand jackpot may also cause a player to draw thin at a hand, which could not only win the pot but qualify as the high hand as well. Since quads are often one of the high hands, the kicker becomes very important. Sometimes quad queens with a king kicker will be beaten by quad queens with an ace kicker.

##### Big Hands

At some poker rooms they have jackpots for specific hands that are quads and above. I was playing at a casino poker room in Las Vegas and one of the players at my table got quad tens and won a $50 jackpot. A little later that afternoon I hit a jack high diamond straight flush at the same table and won $750. To my amazement the casino had a different jackpot for every hand. Thus, if I had hit a jack high straight flush in clubs, the award would have been different. Most poker rooms do not have that much of a differentiation in their jackpot payouts. In most poker rooms, there will be just one jackpot or prize for any straight flush regardless of how high and in what suit.

At one casino poker room, they have a wheel that you get to spin if you get a straight flush. The wheel has various payout amounts from $50 to $500 and one spot that allows you to spin again for double the amount shown on the wheel for the second spin. I usually just got the $50 or $100 awards on this wheel, but did hit a $500 award one day in addition to the $200 award I got for the royal flush, which had qualified me to spin the wheel.

##### Tournaments

Some poker rooms which do not operate around-the-clock will have tournaments early in the day to get players in early and fill up the live tables as players bust out of the tournament. Other poker rooms will start the tournament later in the day and encourage players to come in early and play live tables to earn bonus chips for the tournament. This later strategy is especially effective if the bonus chips are significant and the tournament does not allow re-buys. These bonus chips may give a player 50% more chips to start the tournament than a player who just buys into the tournament without any bonus chips. Some casino poker rooms will allow players to log their hours to qualify for monthly free-roll tournaments or other casino perks.

##### Hot Seats

This is a variation on the splash pot theme where the poker room will draw a number from one to nine (or ten) and then give the players sitting at that position on the table a bonus. Thus, if the bonus is $50 and a four is drawn, then every player in seat four at all active tables gets $50 in chips. This bonus has no impact on the way hands are played but does put more chips on the table and may cause a loose player to play even looser.

##### Drawing Tickets

Another popular promotion was to give a player a drawing ticket for having a full house or better, even if that was not the winning hand. Players would print their name and the date on the tickets. The tickets were then placed in a hopper and every two hours a ticket would be drawn. If the player was present they would get the jackpot. If not, their ticket would be put back in the hopper and the jackpot increased by $100. Once the jackpot was hit, the jackpot would go back to $100 and the process continued. This promotion would go on for a week. At the end of the week the casino would continue to draw tickets until a player was present to win the jackpot. The next morning the hopper was emptied and the contest started again. To claim your ticket you had to stay until the showdown and show your hand.

For that reason some players would call a bet or raise even though they thought their hand might be beaten. Again, both of the players holding cards had to play. Because of this provision, the losing hand might get a ticket for a hand, which included both of their holding cards and the winning hand not get a ticket, because they only used one card from their holding.

##### Disclosures

Poker rooms vary in what will void a jackpot. It is always a good idea to know what you can say or do when a jackpot is involved. In some poker rooms a player may indicate they have a jackpot draw or aces to be cracked and in others that will definitely void the jackpot involved.

A friend of mine told me that he was out of the hand and the holder of a high pocket pair showed him his holding before the hand was over. Because of this the casino voided the bad beat jackpot and cost the discloser 50% of a $32,000 jackpot.

For regular players there may also be code words the players use to indicate that they need to see the flop or build the pot up to a qualifying level to facilitate a jackpot. A player who has pocket aces may say that he is thinking of flying on American Airlines for his next vacation so that other players at the table will stay in the hand and make sure that a sufficient amount of money is in the pot to facilitate the aces cracked jackpot.

If a player has a jackpot hand and the pot is small, they may ask the dealer how much money is in the pot. Why would a player ask this question when the pot is so small and they could easily count it themselves? It is because they need to make sure it gets big enough to qualify for a jackpot. This is then a code for some other player to bet or call. If a player active in the hand wishes his opponents "good luck" it is also an indication that his hand may qualify for an aces cracked jackpot or a bad beat jackpot where they would like to be beaten.

In many cases if there has not been a call, the small and big blind may chop the pot and take their chips back. In a situation where the big blind has a jackpot draw they may indicate that they would like to see the flop. As mentioned earlier, if a courtesy call or bet is made, it is customary for the winner to give the accommodating player their money back.

##### Special Promotions

Sometimes a casino will offer a special promotion for a holiday or annual event. At my local casino in Arizona they offered a special promotion for valentines day. For that day only, any hold'em player to make a heart flush with two hearts in their hand would receive a $100 jackpot. If two or more players got a heart flush in the same hand (with two hearts in their holding) they all got a $100 jackpot, even if they did not win the pot. The casino would then put out a $100 splash pot on the next hand. Anyone who was not dealt in the hand where the hearts jackpot was awarded would not be eligible to be dealt into the splash pot. I never got the heart flush jackpot, but did win a couple of the splash pots offered as part of the promotion.

##### Game Specific Jackpots

The jackpot pools and the jackpot requirements may be different for various games. Thus, there may be separate jackpots for seven card stud, Omaha and hold'em based on the amount of the jackpot drops taken from those tables and the frequency of those jackpots being awarded. My local casino in Arizona offers a $100 jackpot if you hold a 6-4-3-2-A low hand and are beaten by a 5-4-3-2-A bicycle straight. There may also be different requirements for the jackpots to take into consideration the number of cards each player has to make their hand and other factors influencing the difficulty of making a jackpot hand.

##### Exemptions

In some poker rooms the large stakes games might be exempt from a jackpot drop and, therefore, not eligible to win some or all of the jackpots. This is usually based on a request from the high rollers who are more likely to be professional players who don't want to be bothered by the jackpot routine or have to have their pot reduced to accommodate the jackpot drop from every pot. Also getting your aces cracked for a $100 jackpot in a high stakes game is not something that you want to happen, because of the size of the pot and what you have invested.

When you sit down at a table you can ask the dealer what jackpots are available at that table. The dealer should also be able to tell you, or find out, what the high hand is and what the requirements and payouts are for bad beat jackpots and other promotions. Most of the time this information will also be posted somewhere in the poker room.

##### Other

The jackpots and promotions discussed above are certainly not an exhaustive listing of all those being offered in various poker rooms. There are a great number of promotions offered by poker rooms and there are probably more ideas in the hopper. Poker rooms with very high jackpots and promotions like aces cracked will draw players away from other poker rooms as the word quickly spreads among the players as to where the best jackpots and comps are being offered. Also poker rooms will try to create loyalty and hold on to their regular players by offering perks for hours played and drawing tickets for full houses where you have to be present to win.

The main thing about these promotions is that they not only provide a way for the players to pick up a few extra bucks, they also change the way the game is played. You should always be aware of what promotions are in effect when you sit down at a poker table. This is not only because of the way it will effect your own play but how various promotions will impact the play of others at your table as well.

# Chapter 3

# Pokerish Tournaments

Even if you are primarily a cash game player, you may wish to play a tournament occasionally or start competing on the tour to gain fame and fortune. Some casinos also reward cash game players with entries into "free roll" tournaments as a reward for playing a specific number of hours in cash games. Casinos may also give cash game players bonus chips to enter a tournament. What this chapter will do is to point out the major differences between tournament play and cash game play.

Although your casino may also offer Omaha, seven card stud, and razz tournaments, I will focus primarily on no limit Texas hold'em tournaments and how they compare to cash hold'em games described earlier in this book. Even within this category there are several variations which will be addressed in each of the sections within this chapter. Observations about play in limit games and games other than Texas hold'em are discussed in section 3.4 of this chapter.

The primary difference between a tournament and a cash game is that in a tournament the objective is to eliminate players and end up with one winner. Although there may only be one winner, those players who come close may also be rewarded for coming within a specified range of success. In a small tournament this may be only the top three. In a medium sized tournament it could be everyone at the final table. In a large, deep stack tournament, like the main event in the World Series of Poker, it could be a couple of hundred players. However some tournaments are "winner-take-all" and only the winner will get the prize.

Some players like tournaments because there is a limit to how much they will lose. This is because there is a set entry fee and then prizes for those who finish high in the tournament. It is like buying a ticket for a movie or a ball game where you invest a nominal amount for an entry fee and then get to attend the event. However, in a poker tournament you also get to participate in the event. Thus, there is both entertainment value and also the chance to win a nice prize as well. If it is a large enough tournament, you may also get publicity, a memento (like a bracelet or a jacket) and even enough money to give you a start at becoming a professional poker player.

As with cash games, tournament poker is a game of patience, timing, aggressiveness, and the ability to read your opponents. However, unlike a cash game, where you may be just grinding out a profit, tournament play is also a game of survival. Those who choose their battles and strategy carefully and a few who are loose & lucky are the ones who will usually make it to the final table. At that point the play may change drastically.

The kind of play you may see or experience at a final table is not necessarily the type of play those same players used to get to the final table. Even at a final table some of the more conservative players will be reluctant to get into a scuffle with a player who has more chips and can knock them out of the tournament. That is because surviving even one more elimination can make a big difference in the cash prize they might win.

The five sections in this chapter are listed below:

**Section 3.1** will describe some of the procedures, customs, and unique strategies of tournament play.

**Section 3.2** will look at the differences between those tournaments which allow re-buys, add-ons & re-entries and those that don't.

**Section 3.3** will cover the concept, operation and popularity of satellite tournaments.

**Section 3.4** will address the play in limit hold'em and in games such as stud & Omaha.

**Section 3.5** will discuss the various methods of distributing or chopping the prize pool among the finalists.

## Section 3.1

# Tournament Play

This section will address how a no limit Texas hold'em tournament is played in the casino poker rooms where I have played. Since the basic game in a tournament is the same as in the cash game, I will attempt to point out the differences between the play and strategy of these two venues. One difference is that cash games are normally played with nine players to a table while tournaments are normally played with ten players per table. The reason for this will be covered in the second book in the Pokerish series.

##### Signing up

The first thing you need to do is to sign up for the tournament and pay your entry fee. There will usually be a sign up sheet at the counter in the poker room where you can pay your fee and get a seat assignment. Your table and seat will either be assigned by the poker room or they will let you draw a face down tile, which denotes your table and seat assignment. These assignments are random and not sequential so if five players sign up together they all may be assigned to different tables. At the time you pay your entry fee you can request a receipt to keep track of your winnings and expenses for record keeping and income tax purposes.

##### Alternates

If the poker room has a large number of tables and dealers, they may not have a limit on the number of players that can sign up for the tournament. If there are only a limited number of tables and dealers available, then there may be a cutoff on how many players may sign up for the tournament. If that limit has been reached before you try to sign up, the poker room may let you sign up as an alternate.

If you are an alternate, you will be given a number in order of your assignment. Thus, if you are the third alternate to sign up you will be the third alternate to be placed at a table in that tournament. There are two ways an alternate might get into the tournament. If a player who has signed up for a tournament but not yet paid, or who is in a free roll tournament and does not show up, their seat may be given to an alternate. Some poker rooms will also let alternates get into the game during the first few periods of play after an active player has been busted out of the table and created a vacant seat.

##### Starting off

Before the tournament begins you will need to take your assigned seat and receive the tournament chips you are allocated. If you are playing in an unfamiliar casino, make sure that you know the value of the various chips. That is because the tournament chips in some poker rooms are differentiated only by color and do not have their value printed on the chip. If you have been given bonus chip tokens for your live play, then you will turn these in at this time to get the extra chips you have earned. These chips are even more valuable in a non re-buy tournament.

I have only played in one poker room where they allowed you to get your re-buys and add-ons before the tournament began. The incentive for doing this was some bonus chips for taking the "package deal" up front. The normal practice for re-buys and add-ons will be covered in section 3.2 of this chapter.

Before the first hand is dealt the dealer will deal out a single card to establish the location of the button. At one large casino I play at they will only do this at one table and then the button will be placed in that position at all tables.

If you are not in your assigned seat when the tournament begins, or you are absent from your seat during play, your hand will be dealt and then folded automatically. However, when it is your turn to post the big blind or small blind your chips will be put into the pot just as if you were playing. This is different than in live play and may cause a player to be "blinded off" if they miss too many hands. This may also change the way the hand is played because of the "dead money" in the pot.

##### The betting structure

One of the differences in a tournament is that the blinds start out small and then double every new period. The betting periods may vary but many casinos play fifteen minute periods. Toward the end of the tournament when the blinds are very high they may also require an ante from all players in addition to the small and large blinds.

The whole idea is to induce action and keep people from playing too tight. Once you get to the advanced blind and betting levels you at least need to win one hand per round or your chip stack will start to go down. This will force the smaller stacks to bluff at a pot from late position to pick up the blinds and give the player enough to post their own blinds when they get there.

If a player wants to call or raise on the first round, they must bet or raise the same amount as the big blind or fold their hand. However, a player can bet or raise more than the minimum level on any street including going all in with all their chips. At the higher blind limits this is about the only way a short stack can get any leverage and get other players to fold their hands. Remember that the whole idea is to eliminate players from the tournament and get down to a single winner or at least a small group who agree to chop the pot. Chopping the pot will be covered in section 3.5 of this chapter. Most casino tournaments are structured to be completed within a few hours. Deep stack tournaments, like the main event at the World Series of Poker, may take up to seven days to eliminate several thousand players and reach a final table of nine players.

When the blinds and antes get so large that they require a player to put up a significant part of their total chips to satisfy the amount required before the flop, that player becomes "pot committed". Under these circumstances the player will usually stay in the hand until the river, with a less than ideal hand, in hopes of getting lucky and hitting a winning hand that will keep them from being "bled to death" by the elevated betting structure.

##### Betting Actions

Since the tournaments we are referencing are no limit hold'em, a player can bet or raise however many chips they wish when it is their turn to bet. If they state their desired action verbally, then there is no problem. If the player verbally declares that they are betting or raising a set amount or going all in, they can put in the required number of chips any way they wish.

However, if they are indicating that action with chips, they need to be more careful. Like with a cash game you can't put in calling chips and go back for raising chips as this is considered a string bet. Unlike a cash game, you need to make sure you do not advance with too many chips. As an example, in a cash game players may go out with a large stack of chips in their hand and just put in whatever amount they wish to bet. In a tournament if you go beyond the line with a large number of chips, you may be required to leave them all in the pot. At one casino you don't even have to cross the line. Any forward motion with chips commits all those chips to the pot. You can count out your chips into stacks, but any forward motion with them is considered a bet at this casino.

I have seen players take advantage of this rule by going out with a large stack and just making a call. When the dealer makes the player put the entire stack into the pot the player then argues that they did not understand the rule and only wanted to make a call. A later position player might make a substantial raise or go all in to take advantage of the player who has been forced to make a substantial raise by mistake. The deception here is that the caller really has a monster hand and wants to build the pot and appear to be weak to a later player who thinks they are taking advantage of the mistake.

##### Chipping Up

As the blinds and limits go up between rounds the lower denomination chips will be taken out of play. The dealers will then exchange lower denomination chips for higher denomination ones. For those players who have only a fraction of what is needed to get a higher denomination chip the dealer will usually have a chip race. Here the dealer will have players put out any extra chips they have at the lower denomination and then deal them one card for each extra chip they have. All of the extra chips are then collected to determine how many of the larger denomination chips to distribute. Those larger denomination chips will be given to those players who have the largest cards by rank and then suit. The rank order of cards from low to high was explained in section 1.1 of chapter 1 (deuce to ace) and the order of suits from low to high are clubs, diamonds, hearts, and then spades. Notice that they are in alphabetical order (CDHS).

However, a player is only eligible for one of the larger denomination chips. For example, if $25 chips are being removed and you only had three of those chips, you would receive three cards. If one of those was the ace of spades, you would be assured of being given a $100 chip. However, even if you also had the ace of hearts, you would not be given a second $100 chip. The second $100 chip might go to a player with the queen of diamonds. After the chip race is over there will not be any of the lower denomination chips in play.

##### Balancing Tables

As players are eliminated, the number of players at each table will be balanced by moving players from full tables to those with vacancies. To keep from impacting a player who has just posted the blinds, the house person will usually fill the vacant seat with a player from another table in the same position relative to the button so that the player will neither be rewarded nor penalized by the move.

If tiles are used to make the table assignments, when a player is eliminated from the tournament, their tile is given to the house person running the tournament. Once enough tiles are collected to break a table, the house person will go to the table that is being broken and place the appropriate number of tiles face down so that each of the players can draw a tile which will designate their new table and seat. Under these circumstances, a player who has just posted the blinds at the broken table is sometimes put into a seat at the new table where they are required to immediately post those blinds all over again.

Whenever a player is eliminated from the table by losing all their chips, the dealer will announce "player out" so that a house person can come around and collect the tile of the eliminated player. In a very large free-roll tournament of about twenty-eight tables, I was the first one to suffer this indignity by breaking out on the first hand of the tournament. I was located on the button and had been dealt pocket aces. A lady in early position went all in with pocket jacks. I didn't know what she was holding, but knew that it could not be any better than my pocket aces so I made the call. The flop came J-8-3 rainbow, taking away any straight or flush draws for my pocket aces.

I had now gone from a huge favorite (80.3%) to a serious underdog (8.6%) with my only outs being one of the two remaining aces or a runner-runner flush. Neither the turn nor the river brought me an ace or the flush and, since everyone at the table had exactly the same size chip stack in this no re-buy tournament, I was eliminated on the first hand. When the dealer announced "player out" everyone in the room looked to see who would stand up and leave. All I could do was stand up and smile, because I would make the same call again.

##### Breaks

If the casino is playing fifteen minute rounds, they will probably let all players take a ten or fifteen minute break every four rounds of play. This is usually enough time for the players to go to the restroom or perhaps get a hot cup of coffee. During these breaks the players are required to leave all of their tournament chips on the table. If a player is late getting back to the table after a break, their hand will automatically be folded and their blinds posted from their stack when a blind is required. This can be very costly when the blinds and antes become very large.

##### Time Outs

If a player violates a tournament rule, they may be penalized by the house person running the tournament. The penalty is usually that the guilty player be forced to sit out a specific number of rounds. Here the term round represents ten hands at a ten handed table, not the timed rounds (periods) discussed earlier. The more serious the infraction the more rounds they will have to sit out.

Even though their hand is dealt and folded automatically while they are serving their time out penalty, they must still post the blinds and antes required by their position at the table. The later in the tournament this happens the more costly this penalty becomes. If the infraction is serious enough, some poker rooms will expel the player from the tournament.

##### All In Bets

The ideal situation in a no limit hold'em tournament is to get all in with the best hand and then let the law of probabilities work in your favor. However, you need to be very careful about who you get into a scuffle with even if you have a great hand. If you go all in with a player who has a larger chip stack, you are at risk of being eliminated if the large stack player has better cards or better luck than you think they have.

In a very similar situation to the one discussed earlier in this section, I was on the button with pocket aces. A player in early position raised the blind and everyone else before me folded to the raise. I re-raised him with a good portion of my chips and he went all in as a response to my re-raise. Since I was pot committed and holding the best starting cards "in position," I made the call. Because I was now all in and "heads up," the dealer had us turn over our holdings.

Again my pocket aces were a substantial favorite (80.3%) over his pocket jacks. This time the flop brought an ace but no jack. Now I was a huge favorite (96.3%), since he would need runner-runner jacks or clubs to beat me. He did not get any more jacks but did pick up "runner-runner" clubs to put four clubs on the board. Since one of his jacks was in clubs and both of my aces were red, he won the pot and busted me out of the tournament before I could get to the final table. Even after the third club fell on the board, I was still a heavy favorite to win (81.8%).

##### Big Stack Intimidation

A big stack player can intimidate smaller stack players, because they are not risking their "tournament life" with a large bet. In other words, they are risking less in terms of their overall stack to see if they can win the hand. Thus, the large stack cow or chicken is just making a contribution to the breakfast with their milk or eggs while the short stack pig has to make a total commitment to provide the bacon. For this reason a large stack may be able to win pots with substandard cards if they feel the small stack player does not have the cards or the cojones (courage) to go all in against them. This becomes especially true when the small stack player is very close to the "money bubble" and just wants to hang on and let someone else get eliminated first.

##### Small Stack Intimidation

Small stacks can also use intimidation to their advantage. In this case the small stack can go all in with a less than ideal hand because they need to make a stand before their chips get so low that they don't have enough chips to take a stand and get the larger stack players to fold marginal holdings.

Here the small stack player is saying "make my day" and double or triple me up. I have my back against the wall and have no other choice than to make a stand here. This will usually be done in late position when the small stack player can take advantage if no player before them has raised the blind. It can also be done in early position if the small stack player has a moderately strong hand like a low pocket pair or an ace with a good kicker.

##### Checking Down

Since the ultimate objective in a tournament is to eliminate players and to become the "last man standing," players will sometimes work in concert against a wounded, short stack, all in player. This is done by all of the larger stack players in the hand checking their hands rather than betting them. The more players in the hand with the all in player, the greater the chance that one of them will win and eliminate the all in player from the tournament.

When any player is eliminated from the tournament all of the other players at the table improve their chances of advancing. This practice is especially prevalent when players are close to the money bubble or are at the final table and eliminating a player insures more prize money for the remaining players.

If one of the larger stack players were to bet their hand, it would actually help the all in player because they would not be driven out of the pot, but some of their adversaries would be forced to fold a potentially winning hand. Betting under these circumstances is referred to as betting into a "dry pot." That is because the new side pot doesn't have anything in it and might cause everyone else to fold and give the all in player a better chance of surviving.

##### Hand-by-Hand

When a tournament gets down to two tables and/or is close to the money bubble, the person running the tournament will usually make sure that all of the tables proceed at the same speed. If one table finishes a hand before the other table(s) they will wait for the tournament director to give them permission to deal the next hand.

The tournament director will wait for the slower table to complete the hand they are on before they direct both dealers to deal the next hand. This is done so that the players on one table do not play slowly so that someone at another table breaks out first.

##### No Promotions

Another difference between live play and tournament play is that the later will usually not have any of the promotions offered at the same casino for live play. Thus, if you get a bad beat or get your aces cracked, there will not be any jackpot to compensate you for your bad luck.

There will also not usually be a jackpot for high hands, quads and royal flushes, but here the player having this kind of a hand will usually win the pot and not need any consolation. I did play at one casino which gave a $100 cash prize for a royal flush hit during the tournament, but that was only a fraction of what the prize would have been for hitting a royal flush in the live, cash game at the same casino.

Because there are usually no jackpots available in a tournament, the play of the same hand might be drastically different than it would be in a cash game where the jackpot would influence the play. However, the play without the jackpot incentive will be much purer and easier to read.

## Section 3.2

# Re-buys, Add-ons & Re-entries

Some tournaments will allow one or more re-buys and the ability to add-on chips after the tournament begins. This dramatically changes the way the tournament is played, especially early in the game when re-buys are allowed. It also changes the ultimate size of the prize pool, since all of the re-buy and add-on money is usually put directly into the prize pool. Some large stack tournaments will also enable a player who busted out in the first section of a tournament to re-enter later sections of the same tournament by paying another entry fee.

##### Re-buys

A re-buy is the ability of a player to get a specified amount of chips for a specified price when they have lost all their chips. Some tournaments will allow a limited number of re-buys and others will allow unlimited re-buys up to a specified point in the tournament. At one casino they would allow unlimited re-buys up until the first break, which was about an hour after the tournament started. A player is under no obligation to re-buy chips even if they are allowed. The player has the option of re-buying or just leaving the tournament when they have lost all of their chips.

The ability to re-buy chips can have a definite impact on the way the tournament is played. This is because the players are not really risking their "tournament life" by going all-in during a period when unlimited re-buys are allowed or when they still have one or more unused re-buys left.

At one tournament table where unlimited re-buys were allowed up until the break, a very loose player would go all in on every hand. If he won the pot with a good hand or a bluff, he would usually get a very large pot because other players knew he was raising every hand with any two cards and would call his all-in bet. If he lost the pot, he would just get another re-buy and continue with the same strategy. As a result, our table had more tournament chips in play than any other table in the room and we all went on to our next table with large chip stacks.

##### Add-ons

An add-on is like a re-buy but you do not have to go broke to make them. They are usually offered only once and at a specified time in the tournament. Like the re-buy, the add-on creates more tournament chips and also increases the size of the prize pool.

The add-on may also effect the play of a player who has just purchased an add-on and now has more chips and does not feel like such a short stack. Even if a player does not have a short stack, they may purchase an add-on to maximize their chip stack and keep up with other players who are opting for an add-on.

##### Re-entries

Sometimes a large deep stack tournament will have so many entrants relative to the tables available that they will break down the initial players into "A" and "B" sections. Sometimes section "A" and section "B" players will play on the same schedule but at different locations. In other tournaments the "A" section may play on a Monday and the "B" section play on Tuesday in the same facility. Once the number of players has been reduced to a level where all the players left in the tournament can play together, the "A" and "B" sections will then be combined and play together in the same location and at the same time.

World Poker Tour tournaments are sometimes held using the alternate day approach. Under these circumstances they may let a player who has busted out the first day from the "A" section enter the "B" section on the next day. In this situation the player just needs to put up another entry fee and they are back in the game.

If re-entries are allowed, they can change the way a player plays in section "A" knowing that they get back into the tournament even if they bust out the first day. Thus, they may play looser in section "A" because they can re-enter and then tighten up their game in section "B" knowing that there is no safety net there.

Some of the more recent World Poker tournaments have added a section "C" in their tournaments. This enables a player to bust out of the first two sections and still get back into the tournament in the third section. However, if the player has had to put up three tournament entry fees they will need to finish high in the payout structure to even break even.

##### Online Re-buys & Add-ons

Online tournaments may also allow players to make re-buys and add-ons in the same ways indicated above for tournaments played in brick and mortar casinos. Here the player may be given the option of purchasing a re-buy in lieu of leaving the tournament when they have lost all of their chips.

Like with brick & mortar casino re-buys, this may only be available for a specific number of times or during certain periods of time. A player may also be offered the opportunity to make an add-on at the appropriate time. In both of these situations the cost of the re-buy or add-on will be deducted from their cash account at the online site where they are playing. Online tournament play will be addressed in the second book of the Pokerish series.

## Section 3.3

# Satellite Tournaments

A satellite tournament is one where the winner or winners will advance to another higher level tournament. Rather than award the winner with a cash prize, the amount won will be used to buy the winner into a tournament with an entry fee equal to what the cash prize for the lower satellite tournament would have been.

##### Single Level Satellites

For sake of illustration I will give a simple example of how a satellite tournament might work. Let's say that a player puts up $100 to enter a one hundred player satellite to try and raise the $10,000 necessary to enter the World Series of Poker main event. If all of the entry fees are put into the prize pool and the winner takes all, then the winner would have enough money to pay their way into the main event at the World Series of Poker.

##### Progressive Level Satellites

Using the same example as that given for the single level satellite, the entry fee would be $100 but the individual would be playing only against the ten players at their table. The winner would then get the $1,000 prize for winning the first satellite. That player would then enter a higher tier single satellite and compete against those ten players. The entry fee for this second tier satellite would be $1,000. The total prize pool for this tournament would then be $10,000 and enable the player to pay that amount to enter the main event.

The progressive level satellite works best when only a few tables are available and the winners of those tables can advance to a higher tier tournament at that location or at another location. Satellite tournaments are also used to get players into higher level tournaments other than those associated with the World Series of Poker or the World Poker Tour.

##### Real World Satellites

Most brick and mortar satellites differ from the simple, theoretical examples given above. First, not all of the entry fee money will be put into the prize pool. That is because the casino or satellite organizer will usually take a portion of the entry fee to cover expenses and make a profit. Second, many satellite packages for the main event at the World Series of Poker will give the winner or winners a couple of thousand dollars above the $10,000 entry fee to cover the winner's expenses for travel, lodging, and meals while in Las Vegas playing in the tournament.

##### Online Satellites

Online poker sites also offer satellites to their own progressive level tournaments and to the large outside tournaments referenced above. The entry levels for the initial tier of these satellites may be as low as one dollar. Entry into an online cash satellite may also be a prize for winning or placing high in a non-cash tournament. In this case the entry fee is basically free but again it is something that is earned by the player.

Of course on an online site or in a brick & mortar casino you may also be able to go to the next level of a progressive level satellite by just paying the regular entry for the higher level tournament. If you pay $10 to enter a 200 player satellite which will get you into a second level tournament and are not successful, you may be able to pay the $2,000 entry fee and enter the second level tournament directly.

##### Satellite Popularity

The satellite tournament is basically just a method of getting a player into a tournament with a large prize pool by just starting out with a small entry fee and earning their way into a high stakes tournament. In the examples given above, a player could achieve a $10,000 prize with a $10 entry fee by just adding another level (tier) to the progressive satellite method or by adding more players to a single level satellite tournament.

Satellites have become very popular as they offer the possibility of ultimately earning a very large prize for a very small initial cost. The popularity of the satellite really got a foothold when Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker main event after having entered into that tournament through a $39 online satellite. Greg Raymer did basically the same thing in 2004.

## Section 3.4

# Other Tournaments

This section will address tournaments other than no limit Texas hold'em. Even though these tournaments will involve different games or different formats, the basic principle for the tournaments are all the same. That basic principal is to continuously elevate the betting structure which will eliminate players until only one wining player is left.

Later in this section I will describe what I consider to be an interesting alternative structure for a poker tournament. I believe this structure would be a much better indicator of skill and ability than the one currently in use.

##### Limit Texas hold'em

This tournament is played exactly the same as the no limit tournament except there is a limit on the amount which can be bet during each period and each betting tier. The initial blinds are small and then usually doubled each new period. The bets made before and after the flop are at the lower tier level and the ones made after the turn and river are at the higher tier. The strategy for a limit hold'em game is, therefore, similar to the strategy for a limit hold'em cash game.

In the later periods of a limit hold'em tournament not only is there a small and big blind there is usually an ante from all players as well. Even though there are no all in bets which exceed the betting limits, the progressively larger limits reached in the final stages of the tournament will force players out and achieve the same ultimate results that a no limit tournament would. The main difference is there are fewer eliminations during the early periods of play.

#####

##### Other Tournament Games

All of the "HORSE" games can be played in tournaments in both limit and no limit formats. HORSE is an acronym for Hold'em, Omaha, Razz, Stud, and Eight & below. All of these games will be covered in depth in the second book of the Pokerish series. These games can also be amalgamated into a single tournament as is done in HORSE tournament at the World Series of Poker. The concept and strategies are, thus, a marriage of the way one would play a similar cash game coupled with the urgency of, and compromises associated with, the continuously increasing betting limits.

##### An Alternative Structure

The progressively increasing blinds and betting limits now used in tournaments are necessary to eliminate players and get to the ultimate winner within a reasonable time. However, this structure also forces players to play differently than they would if they were just playing their best game.

A short stack player may go all in with a hand they do not really like just because they are coming up on a gigantic big blind or a period where the blinds and antes are going to double. If they are in a blind, it might also take such a large chunk of their stack that they will be pot committed regardless of what cards they hold or what cards come on the board. It may also cause a big stack player to play their hands differently than they normally would.

What I would like to see is a tournament where the blinds stay at the same level throughout the tournament. The tournament would have a set period of time and at the end of that time period the player with the largest chip stack would be the winner and the second, third, and other prizes awarded would be based on the size of their chip stack at that point. You would not need to count everyone's chips because it would be obvious which players would be in contention by just looking for those with the large stacks in front of them.

Even in large deep stack tournaments, like the World Series of Poker main event and those on the World Poker Tour, they constantly keep track of, and post on the reader board, who is in the first ten or twenty places throughout the tournament. Yes, there would be some urgency to get brave as you approach the time for the tournament to end, but that is a decision you make not one you are forced to make by the extremely high betting limits at the end.

With this alternative structure, everyone is playing the same game and not artificially influenced by the blinds they are forced to post. It also protects those players who are moved from another table and forced into gigantic back-to-back blinds which may wipe out their chip stack regardless of how well they are playing.

I have seen the shortest stack at the final table end up high in the payoff structure without even playing a single hand because they ended up drawing a tile which put them on or just behind the button. This structure also makes the length of the tournament extremely predictable.

Of course I also think that a football team's season record should be based on the number of points they scored less the points scored against them for the entire season rather than just the games they won. Since all the teams in a league have to play the same opponents, this would give a more accurate picture of how well each team played.

The way it is done now, beating the opponent by one point is regarded the same as beating them by thirty points. It would also be an incentive for each team to continue to play their heart out down to the final play, rather than just running the clock out if they are way ahead or mentally giving up if they are too far behind.

## Section 3.5

# Awarding the Prizes

As mentioned earlier, a small tournament with only three or four tables may pay only the top three finishers, while a medium size tournament with ten or more tables may pay everyone who makes the final table of nine or ten players. The large deep stack tournaments with a great number of tables usually lasts several days and may have hundreds of players who survive the "bubble" end up "in the money".

Usually there is a set percentage of the prize pool which will go to first place, second place and so forth until the prize pool is exhausted. In a large deep stack tournament there may also be ranges where groups of ten to twenty players who do not make the final table all get the same amount of money. In the large tournaments there may be a trophy or entry into a champion of champion's tournament, which is awarded to the winner and precludes the players from "chopping". However, in the small and medium sized tournaments this is often allowed and utilized.

##### Even Chopping

When the players at a final table decide to chop the prize pool they must all agree to divide the remaining money in the prize pool amongst the remaining players. Normally this will be an even split where all of the remaining players get the same amount regardless of how many tournament chips they have when the split is made. It is not a majority rule decision but a unanimous one where every player still in the tournament is in agreement.

Most casino poker rooms will allow the players at the final table of medium sized tournaments to discuss and decide on chopping the remaining prize pool. If such a discussion is taking place, the house will normally stop the clock until a decision is made.

At one casino poker room where I play, they will only allow discussions and a decision to chop at specific times. When the final table of ten has been decided the ten players may decide to chop the prize pool before the first hand is dealt. If there is not an agreement to chop the prize pool at that time the game will continue until the next break or when another player has been eliminated. After each elimination a window for a chop is open.

At that casino, the even chop of the prize pool for ten players is equal to the prize for third place. Thus, unless you think you can end up in first or second place against the ten player field you are money ahead to chop the pot and walk away with three to four hundred dollars rather than getting only ninety dollars for tenth place.

Even if you are one of the larger stacks at the table, you can easily get busted out by the large blinds, raises and all in bets which happen at the final table. Of course the small stack players and those who are closest to posting the blinds have an extra incentive for wanting to chop the prize pool.

If you are playing in a tournament where the same players often end up at the final table, you have another incentive to go along with a chop even if you have a large stack. The reason is that the next time you get to the final table you may be the short stack. If you do not agree to chop the prize when you are a big stack, the other players will remember and when you are a shorter stack they will purposely not chop the prize pool until after you have been eliminated.

##### Uneven Chopping

Sometimes one or two large stack players do not want to chop the prize pool, because they think they have a good chance to finish in first or second place. Some casinos will allow an uneven chop where one or more players will agree to chop if they get more of the prize pool than the others.

At one casino in Oregon, I was the chip leader at the final table by a large margin. I agreed to chop the prize pool if I were given five hundred dollars and the remainder of the table would get about three hundred dollars each and they would all chip in to tip the dealers the customary amount.

At another casino in Arizona, I went to the final table with more chips than the rest of the table put together. That casino did not allow uneven chopping, but let us have a gentlemen's agreement that each of the other players at the table would give me twenty-five dollars from their portion of the even chop. Since there were ten players at the final table, I got an additional two hundred and twenty five dollars on top of my portion of the even chop.

The short stack players at that table were more than happy to get an even chop and pay the extra twenty-five dollars. I was, thus, rewarded for being a huge chip leader and also maintained my reputation as a good guy, who deserved to be treated well the next time I made the final table and had a short stack.

##### Creative Chopping

At one final table there were only five of us left at the table and there was $2,900 left in the prize pool. Since we all had about the same number of chips, we agreed to all take $500 and then play out the tournament to the end and give the winner the extra $400. Thus, four of us got $500 and the winner got $900. There are many creative ways to chop up the prize pool and as long as everyone left in the tournament agrees the house will usually go along with the arrangement.

In small casino tournaments the players may request that a fourth place finisher receive a portion of the prize pool instead of the normal top three prize awards. In the same type of environment they may also allow the players at the final table to make an agreement that all of the players at the final table will get their entry fee back. Since any of the arrangements made will result in a different split of the same prize pool amount, the house only needs to do the necessary calculations.

##### Multiple Bust-outs

Sometimes more than one player will bust out on a single hand at the final table or in a situation where the payouts are different for the players who bust out together. For example if two players bust out in a five player final table, the player who entered the hand with the least chips will be awarded fifth place money and the other player will get fourth place money. If three players busted out in the same hand, the same method would be used to determine who finished fifth, fourth, and third.

##### Ups and Downs

As indicated earlier in this section, things can change rapidly in the final stages of a tournament and chip stacks go up and down as the shorter stacks double or triple up while the large stacks can take a drastic drop and bust out of the tournament ahead of the small stacks. For that reason, many players will opt for some kind of a chop and walk away with a guaranteed amount rather than take a chance to walk away with a much smaller prize or nothing at all.

At a no limit Texas hold'em tournament in a Las Vegas casino there were only two of us left in the tournament and I was the player with the shorter stack. I offered to chop the remaining prize pool with the chip leader if he would give me a bit more than second place and take a bit less than first place. He considered for a moment and then said that he would like to play another hand or two before making a decision to chop the prize pool.

After the next hand was over I had switched places with him and was now the clear chip leader. I told him he could have the same split of the prize pool, except that now I would take the large share of the split that I had offered him the hand before and he could take the smaller portion. He did accept the chop offer and lamented that he had not accepted my offer on the previous hand.

##### Button Placement

When the final table is established, the dealer will usually re-establish the dealer button in the same fashion used at the beginning of the tournament. If you were just in a position to post the blinds, you get a real hit to your chip stack if you find yourself back in the big blind again. Even if you are a medium stack, the size of the blind at that point is so large it could make you pot committed and force you to play a less than desirable holding just to stay alive and have any chance to advance. The position that a player gets relative to the dealer button can, therefore, be very critical to how well they finish the tournament.

At one ten handed final table I was at, the shortest stack player did not have enough chips to even post the big blind. However, he was fortunate to receive the dealer button and had eight hands before he would be required to go all in for his big blind. Because the blinds were so high, five other players busted out before he was required to post a blind. He went from tenth place to fifth place by just folding every hand and letting the other players become pot committed and eliminated. I was one of those five medium stack players eliminated before him.

##### A Chip and a Chair

At a small casino hold'em tournament I was observing after I had busted out, a very small stack player, who was coming up on the blind, told the other three players at the final table that he would put the rest of his chips into the next pot, fold his hand and leave the tournament if they would agree to create a fourth place prize of just twenty dollars. The tournament only paid the top three finishers. Since they would not accept his offer he stayed in the tournament and won over $400 for a first place finish. One of the larger stack players left with nothing.

##### Tipping

It's customary that all those who get a share of the prize pool to tip 10% to 15% of their prize for all the dealers. If players are eliminated individually then they usually get their payout at the poker room counter where a tip receptacle will be located. If the prize pool is chopped, the house person running the tournament brings the chips or cash to the table to make the payouts to all the players involved in the chop. In addition to the payout chips or cash brought to the table there will be a receptacle where your voluntary tip may be placed.

Some poker rooms will make the payouts in chips while others will payout in cash. Tips may be made with either chips or cash. The higher up in the tournament you finish the greater the disappointment will be among the dealers if you do not tip anything at all. The tips from all the winners are usually combined into a single pot and distributed evenly to all of the dealers who worked the tournament.

# Chapter 4

# Private Pokerish

Up to this point we have looked at poker games played in casino poker rooms. Poker played online, in licensed card rooms, and aboard ships, will be covered in the second book of the Pokerish series. This chapter will deal with poker games played in private clubs and home games. The major difference is that in these venues participation is not open to the public and is restricted to only those invited to play. Some private games are for very large stakes and the focus is to make as much money at the game as possible.

This chapter will focus on those low limit games that are played for recreation with a set roster of regular players on a regular schedule. If this is your objective, you need to have games and limits which are comfortable for all players concerned and will not negatively impact the relationship that the players have away from the table. This is because most private low limit games involve friends, family, business associates or neighbors with whom you deal with regularly away from the table.

Thus, even though these games are played for money, the stakes will be low enough that all the players are comfortable with the amount of money they may lose at the game. Here the focus is social rather than financial and bragging rights are just as important as the profit the winners make at the game.

There are four sections in this chapter:

**Section 9.1** will cover how to best establish the betting limits, structure, and payouts for a private game.

**Section 9.2** enumerates those games which are best for recreational private games.

**Section 9.3** addresses the setting and libations, which makes your private game a positive experience for all.

**Section 9.4** provides an interesting approach to playing poker with two to four players.

## Section 4.1

# Setting Limits and Structure

The first step in creating a successful private game will be to set betting limits which achieve the objectives of that game. If the objective is to win money, high limit or no limit games are probably the best choice. If your objective is recreational and the poker game is meant to be a friendly social activity, the limits should be set at a level which is comfortable for all and not put a strain on the good time and friendly atmosphere you are trying to create.

When I was in my late twenties I was playing in a neighborhood poker game with modest limits. The game was hosted by a neighbor who also played poker in higher limit games. The game started out as a great social event that we all looked forward to every week. However, if a neighbor could not attend, the host would invite a player from his higher limit game to fill in. The outsider would not be interested in the social event; just winning money at the neighborhood "fish pond." As new outside players were brought into the game more of the neighbors dropped out of the game and the atmosphere changed.

The new players all wanted to raise the betting limits of the game and most of the neighbors did not. I was one of the last of the neighbors to drop out of the game. I had built up a couple of hundred dollars in profits from the friendly game, which I kept in my poker jar. When those funds were exhausted at the new higher limits, I had to make a decision about putting my own money into a game which had become expensive and was no longer a friendly social event. I opted to drop out as well and that was the end of our weekly neighborhood poker game.

I currently play in a neighborhood game with friends who all live in a gated, fifty and over, golf course community in Arizona. Most of us are "snow birds" who only spend six months in this community and spend the other six months at our homes up north. Although everyone in this group is retired and well off financially, we keep our stakes low enough that even if you are a loser you had a fun night for a very modest cost.

##### Antes

Rather than try and keep track of having each player put in a nickel ante, we just have the dealer put in a quarter when it is their turn to deal. We require a fifty cent ante from any dealer wanting to play a wild card game. To date we have been successful in discouraging wild card games with this arrangement and we have not had one played for several years now.

##### Betting Limits

The limits for our current weekly game is a nickel, dime and quarter. Up until the last card, a player may bet or raise either a nickel or a dime. On the last betting round a player may bet or raise up to a quarter. Even though this would put a theoretical maximum of $17.85 in a single pot for our eight handed game, in most hands the pot will be about three to five dollars and sometimes much less.

##### Betting Structure

We don't have any blinds for flop games, just the dealer's ante. Therefore, all betting for flop games start with the player to the dealers left and ends with the dealer. We do use a dealer button to keep track of the dealer even though each player calls their own game, shuffles the cards, and deals the hand. The person to the dealers immediate right gets to cut the cards if they wish. We also do not require the dealer to burn a card before they place the flop, turn or river cards on the board. To do so would intimate that someone might be marking cards.

A bet and three raises are allowed on each betting round and check raises are allowed. Our single page written rules specify that all play is to be made in turn and that splashing the pot or string betting is not allowed. Players are also instructed to submit their cards face down to the dealer when they fold, to keep their cards on the table and not to discuss their holding until the hand is over.

Bickering is discouraged, but whining, begging and bitching is allowed in moderation. Enforcement of the rules is done by the dealer and may result in a fine for the player who incurred the infraction. The fines are put into the next pot.

##### The Buy-in

Our initial buy-in is five dollars. That gives each player ten white nickel chips, ten red dime chips, ten green quarter chips and one black dollar chip. This distribution not only gives each player enough variety of chips to bet, it also makes counting out the chips much easier. It is important that if different colors or denominations are used, all the players in the game know the values especially the person who cashes the players out at the end of the game.

##### Re-buys

Unlimited re-buys are available and may be made at any time the player is not in a hand. These re-buys are made from the cashier and paid out in dollar chips. We discourage cash from being used to purchase chips from another player. However, the dollar chips can be used to purchase smaller denomination chips from those players with larger stacks.

##### High Hands

In addition to their five dollar buy-in, each player puts in another dollar for the high hand jackpots. Of this eight dollars, five dollars will go to the highest hand of the night and three dollars will go to the second high hand for the night. We keep a pad of paper handy so that we can keep track of the high hands and the players who made them.

##### Split Pots

In high-low games the extra chip goes to the high hand. In high only games the extra chip stays in the pot for the next hand. We recommend that the person splitting the pot start with the largest denomination chips. Unless otherwise designated by the dealer, or the type of game being played, all low hands must be eight and below.

If declarations are needed by the type of game being played, they will be done with chips so as not to give an advantage to the last player to declare their hand. Each player still active in the hand will take two chips below the table and place the appropriate number of chips in their right hand. All players then open their right hand above the table at the same time. No chips for low only, one chip for high only and two chips for both high and low. If a player declares both high and low they must win both ways, otherwise they win nothing. Most of our high-low games do not require any declaration.

##### Cashing Out

All buy-ins, re-buys, and high hand jackpot money is put into a single bowl. We encourage players to bring a few nickels, dimes and quarters in addition to single dollar bills. We discourage any bill higher than a five dollar bill. At the end of the night the cashier will pay out the high hand jackpots first and then go around the table to his left and pay each player in order. The cashier is the last one to receive his payout. The host is the cashier unless he designates another player to take on this task.

## Section 4.2

# Recommended Games

As with the betting limits, the type of game or games you might play depends on the type of private game you are in and the objectives of that game. If you are playing in a high stakes private game where the primary consideration is to win money, you may want to play high limit or no limit Texas hold'em, Omaha, or seven card stud, rather than dealer's choice and a variety of games. Omaha and stud games are covered in detail in the second book of the Pokerish series.

If your objective is to have a friendly social game, your choices will probably be different. Although my game of choice in a casino is Texas hold'em, that game is not a very good choice for a home game. The reason is that in a hold'em game you will fold the majority of your holdings, because they have little chance of making a playable hand. Having players fold and then sit around waiting for the hand to play out is not very recreational.

The objective of a recreational home game should be to keep most of the players involved and active in the game being played. For that reason split pot games are very good. The most popular game we play in our private game is Omaha high-low. There each player has four cards to choose from and opportunities for either a high or a low hand that might keep them in the game. When playing in a low limit, recreational game, players will also draw at hands that would not be prudent in a higher limit game.

We only play real poker games and not games like acey-deucy and many others which have been developed over the years and are played in some home games. We also have been successful in eliminating any wild card games, which artificially inflate the value of a poker hand and make the game seem more juvenile. In addition to Omaha, there are several other interesting split pot games which will achieve the same objectives. In any split pot game the high hand component will win the entire pot if there is no qualifying secondary hand. Listed below are several split pot and single pot games that are good for a recreational private game.

# Split Pot Games

##### High Chicago

This game, also called "black bottom", is a seven card stud game where the high hand splits the pot with the highest spade in a players down cards. When the game is played in a standard seven card stud fashion, with the third through the sixth streets up, if a player does not have a high spade in the hole on third street, they may just fold their hand. This is especially true if someone is betting or raising early in the hand. If the game is played in a "roll your own" fashion then the players have a chance to pick up a high spade with any of their seven cards not just three.

##### High Hand Low Pair

This game is also played as a seven card stud game where the high hand splits the pot with the lowest pair. In this case the low pair would be a pair of deuces. This is a good split pot game for a recreational game in that even if a player does not have a good high hand, they may have a low pair or one or more low cards, which they can pair on later streets. Even if the player has three-of-a-kind, they can use two of their low cards to make their best low pair. There is no restriction on how low the low pair must be. A pair of kings or aces may be the low pair and win the low portion of the pot.

##### Low Chicago

This game is played the same way as high Chicago only the low spade down splits the pot with the low hand. Because this is a low only game, the ace of spades is the lowest spade. There is no eight or below requirement for the low hand in this game. This game is also more interesting when played in a "roll your own" fashion.

##### Low Hand High Pair

This seven card stud game is played just the opposite of the high hand low pair game described earlier. Here the lowest hand splits the pot with the highest pair. There is no eight and below requirement for the low hand and aces are the highest pair.

##### Omaha High-Low

This is a flop game where each player receives a four card holding. After an initial betting round a three card flop is put on the board and another betting round takes place. Next a single turn card is put on the board and another betting round is made. After the single river card is put on the board the final betting round is completed.

As mentioned earlier, in our dealer's choice structure only the dealer puts in a quarter ante and there are no blinds. Also all bets and raises are made at the nickel or dime limits until the river, when a quarter bet or raise is allowed. A player must play two cards from their hand and three cards off the board for both their high hand and their low hand. The cards they play from their holding and from the board do not have to be the same cards for both their high and low hands, but must still be two from their holding and three from the board.

##### Pitch

This is a seven card stud game where the high hand splits the pot with the lowest eight and below low hand. Here four cards are dealt to each player face down. Each player throws away one of their cards into the muck and then turns one card over face up. If the player has three low cards and a high card, they will usually throw away the high card. If they have a high pair, they will usually keep the pair down and throw away a lower unsuited card. The hand is then played like a normal seven card stud high-low game with the highest card starting the action. This game is often called "pitch and bitch" because players will often wish they had kept the card they pitched and thrown away a different one.

This gives players a better starting hand than they would get from just a standard two down cards and one up card. It also allows them to disguise their hand by keeping their best or worst cards down. If too many players stay in for too many streets the dealer may have to play one or more community cards up on the board which will play in everyone's hand.

##### Seven Card Stud High-Low

This is a seven card stud game with an eight and below requirement for the low segment. It can be dealt in the standard fashion or as a roll your own game.

##### Sixty-Nine

This is a six card stud game where each player is dealt two down cards and one up card at the beginning of the hand. The game is played just like seven card stud high-low except that you only get six cards to make your hand and a nine or below will qualify for the low portion of the pot. The last card can be dealt down or up at the discretion of the dealer. The disposition of the last card must be called by the dealer at the beginning of the game. This game can be played as a pitch game and will not usually require a community card. Like seven card stud high-low, this game can also be played in a roll-your-own fashion.

##### Tahoe

This is a high-low flop game where each player is dealt a three card holding. Tahoe has the same flop, turn and river structure as hold'em and Omaha and the same betting rounds. It is actually a combination of those two games where you may use two cards out of your three card holding but may also use only one or just play the board. Like Omaha high-low the low hand must be eight and below.

##### Push

This is a high-low game which has its own distinctive structure. Each player is dealt one card face down. The dealer then deals the first player to their left a single card face up. The player then decides if they want to pass one of these cards to the player on their left. The next player can keep that card or pass it, or their down card, to the next player. If a player keeps both cards then the dealer will go to the next player in line and give them a choice card. If the dealer doesn't want the card pushed to them then they will put that card on the bottom of the deck and give themselves a choice card which they can either keep or put on the bottom of the deck.

Once all players have been given an opportunity for a choice card or a passed card, the dealer will then deal a burn card to any player who has declined a choice or push card. If the player has a down card, the burn will be up and if the player has all up cards, then the burn card is placed down. When all players have one down card and one up card then the highest up hand will be the first to bet or check. After that betting round the same process is used to give everyone a third card. At any time a player will have one down card and all the rest will be face up. After each round there will be an opportunity to bet starting with the highest hand showing.

When all players have completed the betting round after the fifth card they will be allowed to buy a card. In order, they will be given an opportunity to pay a nickel for a replacement card. They need to put the buy money in the pot, but not indicate which card they wish to replace. After all players have exercised this opportunity they will throw away the card they want to replace and receive a new card. If the card replaced is a down card then the new card will be placed face down. Otherwise the card will be placed face up. A betting round will be made and everyone will be given a second opportunity to purchase a replacement card for a dime.

The same process is used to purchase the second replacement card. Once the last betting round is completed, each player will declare their intention to go high, low, or both ways with chips in their hand which they all open at the same time. For this game the low hand doesn't have to be eight or below.

Sometimes the strategy of this game dictates that you keep a card that you don't need rather than pass it to a later position player who could use that card to get a better hand than yours. In that case, unless you have already made your hand, you will probably replace that card when you have an opportunity to do so during one of the replacement rounds. If you are going low only or high only you may not care if you improve a players hand who is going the other way. Also if you are passed a down card and want to keep it you should turn it up and get your burn card down. That is because the player or players who passed it to you know what it is and will know exactly what you have in your five card hand.

# Non-Split Games

##### Omaha High

This nine card flop game is played the same as the Omaha high-low game explained earlier in this section, without the low component. This game will keep more players in the hand than Texas hold'em because each player has four cards in their holding and a better chance of making a good high hand.

##### Razz

This seven card stud game is played straight low. The low hand does not have an eight and below requirement so the lowest five unpaired cards constitute the best low hand.

##### Seven Card Stud High

This seven card game can be played either in standard format or as a roll your own game. If too many players stay in this game for too many streets, one or more community cards may be required.

##### Texas Hold'em

This seven card flop game is not very good for a recreational home game unless there are nine or ten players and those who fold their hands do not mind waiting for the next hand to start. In the dealer's choice mode explained earlier, this game is played without blinds and only the dealer's ante is in the pot before the cards are dealt. The betting regiment and structure of this game is explained in section 1.1 of chapter 1.

##### Tournaments

I have played in a few private game Texas hold'em tournaments. If this is done as a home game, you need to have some activity for those who bust out of the tournament early or do not want to take advantage of a re-buy opportunity. There are software packages which you can run on a laptop computer that will keep track of the time for each level of the tournament and the blinds and antes required at each level.

## Section 4.3

# Location and Libations

Private games held in clubs or in the locker room at your golf course may provide an excellent setting for a private poker game. Unfortunately this type of setting is not always available when you need it and may not mesh with the type of setting you need to have for a successful private game. For example, there is a game room with poker tables in the clubhouse of our golf course community. However, we can't reserve this facility for our exclusive use and also can't bring in our own alcoholic beverages and snacks, which is an important part of our social experience.

Thus, for our Tuesday night poker games we rotate the game between the eight regular players and let them host the game in their home when it is their turn. Since we are all retired we don't have children living with us. When it is our turn to host the game our wife will usually visit another poker wife so as not to be underfoot or turned into a cocktail waitress. A few of our wives have started to get together and go see a "chick flick" they know their husbands don't want to see. Sometimes the host's wife will closet herself into another room where she can watch television or read a book and not subject herself to the ruckus activity and spicy language that is also a part of our normal Tuesday night poker experience.

To make our Tuesday night poker game a successful social experience we have an established routine to ensure continuity and congeniality. The routine outlined in this section is the one we have found to best fit our unique needs. It is only provided as a guide to how other home games can be structured.

##### Notifications and Confirmations

At the top of our one page poker rules is a listing of all of the regular players and their phone numbers. The host will call each of the players a day or so before the game to remind the invited players and confirm their attendance. If a player is not available, the host will line up a substitute to bring the game up to eight players. At every game we will identify the host for the next two games.

##### Game Schedule

Although the time schedule is up to the host, we normally start the game at 6:30 pm and play until 10:00 pm. That timeline allows us to have cocktails and dinner before arriving and gives us three-and-a-half hours to play.

##### Poker Accessories and Equipment

To ease the burden on the host, we have a portable poker table, a folding poker table top, professional clay chips, senior sized poker cards, and folding chairs. These are available to the host if they need any of these items and can be brought to the host on the night of the game.

##### Beverages

Each player brings their own beverages and mixers. To accommodate those who bring beer, wine, or soft drinks, the host will clear out a space in the refrigerator to keep these items cold. The host will also provide glasses, ice, and drinking water. We discourage the use of stemmed wine glasses at the table because we have had too many incidents where the wine and cards have gotten mixed up on the poker table. Each player gets or makes their own drinks.

##### Snacks

The host provides the snacks. This will normally include items like nuts, trail mix or pretzels which can be eaten at the table and a larger array of snacks which will be served about half way through the game and then left out for the rest of the game. The larger array of snacks will normally be various types of cheese, meat, and crackers. Chips, dips, salsa and popcorn are not as good as they create a mess and sometimes get grease on the cards and the felt of the poker table.

##### Permanent Location

If one of the players has a room or equipment where they can host every game, then this will give you another option. Even if this permanent host has an understanding spouse they should not have to provide the snacks, coordination, and cashiering responsibilities for every game.

## Section 4.4

# Pokerish for Four or Less

You don't have to have a large number of people to enjoy the game of poker. Below are some suggestions for playing poker with from two to four players. Like any poker game, these games need to be played for money or a score to make them interesting. The amount of money involved doesn't have to be very high just enough to make the game interesting and challenging. Listed below are some of the games I have developed for small groups of between two to four players. These games are even more social than the private games described earlier in this chapter.

##### Terry's Draw Poker

This is a game I developed to play heads up with friends or with up to four players a small public card room until enough players came to start the regular game. Each player antes fifty cents into the pot. Then the dealer shuffles the deck and the player to his right cuts the cards. The dealer then deals five cards to every player, puts the remaining deck face down on the board and turns over the top card to start a discard pile.

The player to his immediate left starts the action by taking one of three actions. First, they can put a bet of up to a dollar in the pot and just play the cards they have been dealt. Second, they can put a dime in the pot and take the top face up card on the discard pile or pay a nickel into the pot and take the face down card from the top of the deck. If they draw a card, then they must discard a card face up onto the discard pile so that they always have just five cards in their hand at the end of their turn. Third, they can just fold their hand if they don't think it has many possibilities and they don't want to invest any more money in that hand.

This action is then repeated by each player when the player to their right has completed their action. If a player before them places a bet then they have three possible actions. First, they can just fold their hand. Second, they can call or raise the original bet and any intervening raises. Third, they can purchase either a nickel or a dime card and then call, raise or fold. If they buy a card and then choose to fold, they fold all six cards and do not discard a card. If there has not been a bet, then they have the same choices that the original player had which is to fold, draw a card, or bet their current hand.

The important thing here is that if a player draws a card that makes their hand, they can't bet that hand until it is their turn again. When their next turn comes they can put out a bet in-lieu of drawing a card. Obviously the farther into the hand the play goes the larger the pot becomes and the better the hand needs to be to win the pot.

If a player makes a strong hand early, they may choose to "slow play" that hand and trap the other players. When this happens the player with the strong hand will just draw a nickel card and then just throw it away and let the other players chase an inferior hand and build the pot. Once another player has made a hand and bets it, the trapper can come over the top with a raise. It is important that you be aware of the dime cards your opponents are buying and what they are discarding so you have a rough idea of what they have or are trying to make.

When the draw pile has become exhausted, the dealer will shuffle all of the cards in the discard pile, except the top one, to create a new draw pile and play will continue. If the hand has not been completed by the time the draw pile is exhausted the second time, then the hand is over. At that point all players turn their hand over and the best hand wins the pot.

##### The Poker Purse

This is a poker game my wife and I play with a couple we socialize with frequently and also travel with. We play the games outlined in section 4.2 of this chapter for 15 cent limit bets. At the end of the game we total up the chips to see who won. The winners don't get any money, but the losers have to put the amount they have lost into the poker purse, which is maintained by one of the players.

When the amount of money in the poker purse gets large enough, we use it to purchase a special dinner, lunch, or breakfast at a restaurant for the four of us. If the amount in the poker pot is not enough to cover the tab for the dinner we want we all chip in and subsidize the poker purse. During that meal each of us claims to have been the one who bought the meal.

Several years ago while on a trip we just kept a running tally of each players wins and losses and then netted out the wins and losses at the end of the trip. This ended up canceling out most of the profits for the poker purse, because a player may lose one night and win the next. Now we always settle up after each game.

##### Point Poker

As indicated by the heading above, this is a game called "Point Poker," which I invented and copyrighted, but have yet to market. My purpose was to correct some of the statistical (odds vs values) inconsistencies of poker with a regular deck of playing cards and to create an interesting and challenging new game built around the poker concept. Also if you are playing with a joker or other wild cards with a conventional deck, then your wild card hand is just as high as a natural hand of the same rank although it is much easier to make.

In a Point Poker deck there would be cards from 1 to 10 (rank) in five different colors (suits) blue, purple, green, red, and yellow. In addition, there would be four brown wild cards. Thus, the size of a 54 card Point Poker deck would be the same as a conventional poker deck with 52 cards and two jokers. The picture below shows a complete Point Poker game.

In Point Poker the value of a poker hand would be determined by the best hand value combined with the point value of the cards used to make up the hand. The hand value would be 0 for no pair, 10 for a single pair, 20 for two pair, 30 for three-of-a-kind, 40 for a straight, 50 for a flush, 60 for a full house, 70 for quads, 80 for a straight flush and 90 for five-of-a-kind. The point value for the hand would be the sum of all five cards in the hand including the kicker(s).

The best high hand possible would be five tens, with a total value of 140 combined points (90+50). The worst possible high hand would be a 1-2-3-4-6, for a total value of 16 combined points (0+16). Wild cards have no point value, so a natural hand is much higher than the same hand, which includes one or more wild cards. Also a pair of nines and a pair of eights with a ten kicker (20+44=64) would beat a pair of tens and a pair of twos with a six kicker (20+30=50).

Point Poker can be played in any of the games described in section 4.2 of this chapter or with as few as two players using the "Terry's Draw Poker" method described earlier in this section. For split pot or lowball games the best low hand considers only the point value of all five cards played and disregards the hand count. Thus, the best low hand possible would be one point, which would be a hand with a one and four wild cards.

Again, for the low component, only the point value of the hand is used and pairs, straights, flushes, full houses, and other hand value holdings do not impact the low hand component. It is, therefore, impossible for your low hand to be counterfeited by duplicated low cards, as would be the case with a conventional low hand. For example a (W-1-1-2-2) with a point count of six would beat a conventional wheel (1-2-3-4-5) for low, because the wheel straight would have fifteen points. Notice that the duplicate ones and twos in the first hand do not impact its low hand value. Thus, the low hand described earlier (1-W-W-W-W) would have a low value of one (0+1) and a high value of ninety-one (90+1).

Since each player's hand in Point Poker has a combined point value, it can also be played like gin rummy and points accumulated on a score sheet to determine the winner of a game. Thus, if played in the Terry's Draw Poker method , instead of making a bet when a player makes their hand they can just go out and give the other players a last chance to draw a card to improve their hand. Then all hands are added up and put down on the score sheet. The first player to go out in each hand would get 20 extra points and the first player to reach 1,000 points would win the game. The player to have the next highest score would come in second, and so forth.

This score pad method makes the game a good choice for young players and others who are adverse to gambling for money. Utilizing this approach, a player may take a card from the discard pile or the stock without any chips being tendered. Also, for young players there would be an educational component of quickly adding up the combined value of their hand as well as the fun and challenge of the game.

# Chapter 5

# Pokerish Glossary

Listed below are some of the expressions, terms, and phrases that you are likely to encounter in the Pokerish community. Although this is not an exhaustive list, it will give you a good start on your Pokerish vocabulary and the ability to better understand what the other poker players at your table are talking about.

**"A" Game** \- When a player is playing their best poker and making good decisions.

**Alternate** \- A player who registers for a tournament after the tournament is full on the basis that they may be able to get into the tournament if one of the original players does not show up or to replace a player who busts out of the tournament in the first few rounds.

**A Mechanic** \- A player who cheats and manipulates the cards.

**Ace Magnets** \- Pocket kings. This is because when someone has pocket kings it seems inevitable that an ace will show up on the board, usually on the flop. When that happens the value of the pocket kings immediately diminish in value unless a king or other helpful cards show up on the flop as well.

**Ace-Rag** \- A holding of an ace and a lower card.

**Aces and Spaces** \- A single pair of aces. The "spaces" refers to a second pair which is not there.

**Aces Cracked** \- Pocket aces beaten by a better hand. At some casinos this will qualify for a small jackpot.

**Acey-Deucey** \- A quasi poker game where the player bets on their chance of drawing a card between the two cards they are dealt. The game is called acey-deucy because those two cards offer the best odds since the ace is played high and any card other than another ace or deuce will win them the pot.

**Acting in Turn** \- The betting sequence starting with the small blind and continuing clockwise to the player on the button. Before the flop, the small and big blinds are required before the cards are dealt, so on that street of betting the player to the left of the big blind is required to act first.

**Active Players** \- Those players who have not folded their hands and are still competing for the pot.

**Add-on** \- An amount of chips a tournament player is allowed to buy even though they still have chips in their stack.

**Action** \- Poker play. When the action is on a player it is their turn to act.

**Aggressive** \- An aggressive player is one who bets and raises consistently. Most often this player will be a loose player, but may also be what is considered tight-aggressive in that they will only play premium cards but will play them aggressively.

**Air** \- A player may give another player "air" by not punishing another player with a bet or a raise with a very strong hand.

**Air Ball** \- A card which does not help a hand. See also Blank and Rags.

**All In** \- When a player bets all of the chips they have left.

**Ante** \- An amount of money required to be placed in the pot before any cards are dealt. Antes are used in non flop games like stud to seed the pot before any cards are dealt. In the later stages of flop game tournaments antes are usually required in addition to the blinds.

**Back to Back** \- When a player wins two hands in a row or gets the same holding two hands in a row.

**Bad Beat Jackpot** \- A jackpot awarded to a player who is beaten with a very high hand such as an aces full of tens full house. To qualify for this jackpot both holding cards in both hands must play and there must be a qualifying amount in the pot.

**Balancing Tables** \- In a tournament, the floor person will move players from full tables to tables with vacancies to keep the tables even until they are broken. Some small casinos will also balance tables in cash games to avoid having a table play short handed.

**Bankroll** \- Money a player has to invest in a game.

**Barbara Hutton** \- A pocket holding of a five and a ten. This is because she was the granddaughter of Frank Woolworth, who owned the Woolworth five and ten cents stores.

**Bet** \- An amount wagered by a player when no other player has placed a previous bet on that street of betting.

**Bet in the Dark** \- When a player bets before they have seen their next card.

**Betting Tier** \- In a casino poker room the games will usually have a two tier betting structure. In Texas hold'em and Omaha the lower tier will be in effect for the first two betting rounds and then double to a higher betting tier on the last two betting rounds. In stud games the betting for the first two betting streets is at the lower tier and the last three betting streets is at the higher tier level. Games spread by a poker room will include both the type of game and the limits of that game such as $4-8 Texas hold'em or $8-16 Omaha. Even in no limit and spread limit games there is a minimum betting structure with two tiers. Some casinos will have a range such as $2 to $6 on any street of betting.

**Bicycle Straight** \- A five high straight (A-2-3-4-5). See also Wheel.

**Big Blind** \- In a flop game this would be the player seated to the left of the small blind. This player is required to put out a full bet at the lower betting tier before any cards are dealt. The big blind is live and can post a raise even if there has not been a raise before them.

**Big Slick** \- A pocket holding of an ace and a king.

**Blank** \- A card which does not help any player's hand or change the best hand possible on the board. See also Air Ball and Rags.

**Bled to Death** \- What happens to a tournament player who slowly loses their chips because of the cost of the blinds and antes.

**Blinded Off** \- When a tournament player loses their last chips as the result of posting a blind. This often happens when a player is absent from the table, or sitting out a penalty, and must still continue to post the required blinds and antes.

**Bluff** \- A bet or a raise intended to represent a better hand than the player actually has. A bluff can be used to win the pot, intimidate other players, to set up another bluff on subsequent betting rounds, or get a free card on the next betting round.

**Boat** \- Also referred to as a "full boat" is the same as a full house which is a hand with three-of-a-kind and a pair. See also Full House.

**Board Cards** \- Those up cards divulged on the flop, turn, and river for a Texas hold'em or other flop games like Omaha, which are visible and playable by all players in the hand.

**Bottom Pair** \- After the flop the bottom pair would be a pair of the lowest ranked card on the board. With a flop like K-9-4 the bottom pair would be a pair of fours.

**Bracketed Straight** \- When a player has both ends of a straight as their holding. For example if a player had a 7-J holding and the board showed an 8-9-T.

**Bring In Bet** \- A bet required in a stud game by the player with the highest or lowest card in an eight and below or stud high game respectively.

**Broadway** \- An ace high straight (T-J-Q-K-A). See also Tree Top Straight.

**Broderick Crawford** \- This is a pocket ten and a four. It got its name because the actor Broderick Crawford played in the television series "Highway Patrol" and use the term "Ten Four" on his police radio transmissions.

**Bubble Boy** \- A person who is the last one to bust our of a tournament before all of the remaining players qualify for a payout. Also referred to as "going out on the bubble."

**Burn Card** \- Before the dealer puts out the three card flop they will put the top card from the deck face down under the chips in the pot and then put out the next three cards face up on the board to reveal the flop. They will also burn a card before the single turn card and the single river card. The purpose of a burn card is so that if there is any marking on the top card that a player recognizes it does not give them an advantage with regard to what cards are coming on the board.

**Button** \- A round plastic disk which designates the virtual dealer in a flop game. This identifies the last player to act on each round of betting and will be moved one position to the left after the completion of each hand. This button is white with the designation "Dealer" printed in black. Although there are several different types of buttons designating various things in a poker game, this is the one meant when someone refers to "the button." See also Dealer Button.

**Button Straddle** \- If a card room allows a button straddle, the player on the dealer button may post a live straddle. If the small and big blinds wish to play in the hand, they must satisfy the straddle bet amount. Many casinos require the small and big blinds to come up to the straddled level before other players act and others do not. When the small and big blinds are required to act first, the straddler has last action.

**Buy the Button** \- A player is allowed to buy the button if they have missed the big blind but come back before the button reaches or passes them. In this situation they are allowed to post an amount equal to both the big blind and the small blind and play that hand and also play their button on the next hand. Only the big blind portion of this amount is considered to be a bet and the small blind portion pulled into the pot.

**Call** \- When a player wagers the minimum amount of money needed to stay in the hand.

**Call the Clock** \- If a tournament player is taking an abnormal amount of time to make a decision, another active player in the hand may call the clock. From the time the clock is called the player then has one minute to make their decision. If that decision is whether to call a bet, their hand is considered as a fold at the end of the time period. Some players have even called the clock on themselves.

**Calling Cold** \- When a player has to call a bet and one or more raises all at the same time.

**Calling Station** \- A player who always just calls bets and seldom raises. See also Passive and Station.

**Canine** \- A holding of a king and a nine (K9).

**Capped** \- A bet is capped when the number of raises allowed have been met and no further raises are allowed.

**Card Dead** \- When a player can't get good cards.

**Card Protector** \- A chip or good luck item which is placed on top of your holding cards to keep them from getting mixed up with other cards and becoming mucked or scooped up by the dealer. A player is responsible for protecting their own cards.

**Card Rack** \- A player who consistently gets good cards.

**Card Room** \- A poker room where players deal their own cards and pay the house by the hour.

**Cards Call Themselves** \- The rule that the dealer or any player at the table can call a hand once the player lays the hand face up on the table.

**Cased Card** \- A cased card is the last card in the deck of a particular rank or suit. If three players had an ace in their holding and a fourth ace came on the board, the last ace would be the cased ace. Also if the last card of a suit showed up on the board, it would be the cased spade, heart, diamond or club.

**Cat Bird Seat** \- A player is in the cat bird seat when they have a sure winner and others are competing for a lesser hand or the other half of the pot in a split pot game. See also Hammer.

**Chase** \- When a player knows they are beaten but thinks they can draw out on the better hand.

**Check** \- To forgo an opportunity to bet.

**Checking Down** \- When all the active players in a hand check regardless of what cards come on the board.

**Check in the Dark** \- To check before the next card is disclosed in a flop game. In a flop game only the small blind can check in the dark since they are the first to bet in all but the first betting round. If the player before you checks in the dark you may do so also. In a stud game it is not possible to check in the dark since the player to start the betting may change by the up cards dealt on that street.

**Check-Raise** \- When a player checks their hand and then raises a later position bettor. This is a very strong play used to trap a later position player. A check-raise may not be allowed in some private games.

**Cheese** \- Weak cards with little potential to make a winning hand. See also Piece of Cheese.

**Chipping Up** \- When a player in a cash game has too many small denomination chips and wants to exchange them for larger denomination chips. In a tournament this will be required of all players as the tournament progresses into higher betting levels.

**Chip Race** \- A way of distributing higher denomination chips when players in a tournament advance into a higher betting tier where lower denomination chips are removed and the player does not have enough of the lower denomination chips to secure higher level ones.

**Chip Runner** \- A card room employee who will purchase chips from the cashier for a player so the player doesn't have to leave the table. They also get chips for the dealer to replace those sold at the table from the dealer's chip tray. This is called a fill.

**Chips** \- Clay tokens used in a poker room in lieu of cash or in a tournament. All chips are the same size and differentiated by color, design, and numerical designation to denote denomination. Each casino will have its own chips with the casino name or logo on them. Some casinos will accept chips from other casinos.

**Chopping the Pot** \- When players at the final table all vote to divide the pot rather than play the tournament out.

**Cojones** \- Having the courage to bluff or make a difficult call, bet or raise. This term is Spanish for testicles. See also Heart.

**Cold Deck** \- When a player can't get good enough cards to win even if they produce good hands which are bettered by an opponent's cards.

**Color Up** \- Exchanging lower denomination chips for higher denomination ones while at the table. This is usually done when a player has too many of the lower denomination chips.

**Community Cards** \- Cards which are playable in all players hands. In a flop game, all of the cards on the board are community cards. In a stud game, a community card may be required if not enough cards are available to give all of the players and individual card.

**Comp** \- Food, beverages or lodging which is complementary and provided free of charge to poker players. It could also be a discount given on any of the above named items.

**Continuation Bet** \- This is a bet made by the last bettor or raiser on the previous street, even if that player has not improved their hand. This bet is made to get rid of all of the players who have not improved their hand or those who think the bettor has the best hand.

**Counterfeited** \- When the cards on the board duplicate the ones you are holding and gives another player the same or a better hand.

**Cowboys** \- Pocket kings. See also "K" Boys

**Crabs** \- Pocket Threes, because they look like crabs with their claws out.

**Cut Card** \- This is a blank plastic card (usually yellow or white) which the dealer places on the bottom of the deck being dealt. When the deck has been shuffled the dealer will cut a portion of the deck off the top and place it on the cut card. The remaining cards will then be placed on top of those cards. The reason for the cut card is to cover the bottom of the deck so the bottom card will not be visible while the cards are being dealt. Sometimes this card is called a diaper since it covers the bottom.

**Cutoff Position** \- In Texas hold'em or Omaha this would be the player to the immediate right of the dealer button. This player would be the second to the last player to act on each betting round.

**Dead Hand** \- A player's hand which has been declared by the dealer as ineligible to win the pot because the player's holding has touched the muck, another players holding, the board cards, fallen off the table, or because the player has broken a rule serious enough to disqualify them from winning the pot.

**Dead Man's Hand** \- A pair of aces and a pair of eights. This hand is so named because it was the hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shot in a Deadwood, South Dakota saloon. The original aces and eights were all black cards, but the term is used for any aces and eights regardless of suit.

**Dead Money** \- Money put into a pot by a player who has folded and no longer in contention for that pot.

**Dealer Button** \- A button representing the virtual dealer in a flop game. See also Button.

**Deep Stack Tournament** \- A tournament which gives a player enough chips to stay in the tournament for a longer period of time than a normal tournament. The World Series of Poker Main Event would be an example of a deep stack tournament. This tournament lasts several days.

**Defending a Blind** \- When a player in the small or big blind calls a raise because they already have money invested and want to see the flop. Some players consistently defend their blinds so that later position players will not raise them just to see if they can eliminate the blinds and create dead money.

**Dolly Parton** \- This would be a holding of a nine and a five. It was named after Dolly because she stared in the movie "Nine to Five."

**Donk** \- Short for donkey. See also Donkey, Fish, and Pigeon.

**Donkey** \- A person who plays poorly and makes stupid choices. See Also Donk, Fish, and Pigeon.

**Door Card** \- The first up card of each hand dealt in a stud game.

**Double Up** \- When a player wins a pot for which they are all in. They may also triple up or quadruple up depending on the number of players they are all in against.

**Doyle Brunson** \- A holding of a ten and a deuce. The legendary poker player and author Doyle Brunson won two World Series of Poker championships with this holding.

**Drafting -** When a tight player lets a loose player bet their hand for them. The tight player then just calls and acts like they are on a draw rather than holding a strong hand. By doing this the tight player is using the loose player's table image to get action they would not get if they were betting the hand themselves.

**Draw** \- A player is said to have a draw when they have four cards to the five card hand they are waiting for.

**Drawing Dead** \- A situation where a player is drawing at a hand that still will not win them the pot regardless of the cards they get.

**Draw Poker** \- A five card poker game where players are allowed to discard some of the cards they were dealt and replace them with new cards from the remaining deck. Betting is done before and after the draw. Draw poker is usually found in private games and is not a popular casino game.

**Drawing Thin** \- Where a player is drawing at a hand with very few outs to make that hand.

**Dry Pot** \- A side pot in a tournament without any money in it with one or more players all in.

**Dry Spell** \- A period of time during which a player has not received a playable hand or won a pot. This was taken from the agricultural realm, where farmers would use this term to complain about a protracted period without rain that would threaten their crops.

**Ducks** \- Pocket deuces. A set of deuces is sometimes called "Huey, Louie, and Dewey."

**Dumb End of the Straight** \- The bottom end of a straight. See also Stupid End of the Straight.

**Early Position** \- The first three or four players to the left of the dealer button in a flop game who are required to act before those players in middle or late position. After the flop the small blind is always the first to act.

**Earned the Pot** \- When a player wins a pot without the best hand by bluffing out players with better hands.

**Entry Fees** \- The amount charged to play in a tournament.

**Exposed Cards** \- Cards which are turned up by accident. If a card is exposed, the dealer will make sure that all players know what the exposed card is so that everyone has the same information.

**Face Cards** \- Jacks, queens, and kings because those cards have faces on them. See also Paint.

**Felt a Player** \- To take all of their chips so that they are down to the bare felt.

**Fifty-Seven Chevy** \- A holding of a five and a seven.

**Final Table** \- The last table in a poker tournament where all of the remaining players play together at a single table.

**Fish** \- Those players who are easy to beat and provide food for the "sharks." See also Donk, Donkey, and Pigeon.

**Fishhooks** \- This would be a holding of two jacks. The reason is that they look like two fishhooks.

**Floating** \- When a player plays passively on the early streets of betting with the intent of making an aggressive bet or raise on a later street of betting. This is different than trapping in that the player doing the floating may not have a good hand and is acting like they are springing a trap to cause the other player to fold.

**Floor Person** \- A card room employee who supervises the dealers and makes final decisions when requested by the dealer.

**Flop** \- The first three cards placed face up on the board in a Texas hold'em and other flop games like Omaha.

**Flop Game** \- Games like Texas hold'em, Omaha, and Tahoe where cards are placed up on the board and can be used by all players in the hand.

**Flush** \- A five card hand in which all of the cards are in the same suit. The best flush is determined by the highest cards in the player's flush. A flush is higher than a straight but lower than a full house.

**Fold** \- To surrender your cards to the dealer and drop out of the hand.

**Four-of-a-Kind** \- A poker hand which contains four cards of the same rank. The rank of the four-of-a-kind determines the winning hand. The winner or winners in a flop game where players are using the same four-of-a-kind on the board will be determined by the highest kicker. See also Quads.

**Free Rolling** \- When a player doesn't have to worry about losing but can be confident in winning or at worst breaking even.

**Free Roll Tournament** \- A tournament where the player is not required to post an entry fee, but is eligible to win a prize.

**Full House** \- Three-of-a-kind and a pair in the same five card hand. The highest full house is determined by the rank of the three-of-a-kind. In a flop game if two players both have a full house with the same three-of-a-kind, then the rank of the pair determines the winner. A full house beats a flush or below and is beaten by four-of-a-kind (quads) or higher.

**Games Spread** \- All of the different poker games and limits offered by a poker room.

**Gay Waiter** \- A pocket holding of a queen with a trey.

**Gretzky** \- A pair of pocket nines. This is because the number of the famous hockey player Wayne Gretzky was 99 and his number was permanently retired across the NHL when he retired.

**Grinding** \- Making money in a poker game by putting in the hours and winning more than losing.

**Gut Shot Straight Draw** \- A potential straight which requires an inside card and only provides four outs.

**Hammer** \- A player is said to have the "hammer" if they have a sure winner such as the best high hand in a high-low game, where other players are fighting for the best low hand. Someone with the hammer will usually pound their opponents by betting and raising at every opportunity. See also Cat Bird Seat.

**Hand** \- Each iteration of the game played after new cards are dealt and until the pot is awarded and a new hand started. Also used to designate the best five cards held by a single player.

**Hand-by-Hand** \- A process used by a tournament director to make sure that one table is not playing slower than another table just to survive the money bubble or final table selection. Here the faster table waits for the slower table to finish a hand before both tables deal the next hand.

**Heads Up** \- When only two players are left in the hand.

**Heart** \- Having the courage and confidence to make a difficult play. See also Cojones.

**High Roller** \- A player who prefers to play in high stakes, no limit games where the pots get very large.

**Hijack Position** \- This is the player two positions ahead of the button and one position ahead of the cutoff position. This designation is made to indicate that the player in this position can steal the late position raise (or bluff) from either the cutoff position player or the button (virtual dealer).

**Holding** \- A player's down cards which no other player can see. In Texas hold'em it would be the first two cards dealt to the player face down. In Omaha it would be the first four cards dealt to each player face down. In seven card stud and razz it would be the first two cards and the seventh card dealt face down. See also Hole Cards and Pocket.

**Hole Cards** \- A players down cards. In Texas hold'em this would a player's initial two cards. In Omaha it would be the initial four cards dealt to each player. In seven card stud it would be the first two cards and the seventh card dealt. These cards are not visible to the other players. See also Holding and Pocket.

**Hooks** \- Pocket Jacks. See also Fishhooks.

**Horse Tournament** \- A tournament where the players must play five different games during different segments of the tournament. Those games are Hold'em, Omaha, Razz, Stud, and Eight and below. The initials for these games spell horse.

**Hot Streak** \- When a player wins a series of pots close together.

**House Rake** \- Chips that are taken out of each pot to provide revenue for the poker room. This is based on a percentage of the pot up to a specified maximum. See Rake.

**Implied Odds** \- Pot odds which take into consideration the eventual size of the pot rather than just the size of the pot at the time the player makes their decision.

**In Play** \- Chips or cash which is on the table and considered available to bet in the current hand.

**In Position** \- A player is in position when they are to act after their opponent or opponents.

**In the Money** \- Players who finish high enough in a tournament to earn money.

**Jack Benny** \- A holding of a three and a nine. So called because 39 was Jack's perpetual age.

**Jackpot** \- A monetary prize given for an exceptionally good hand or in consolation for losing with a good hand such as for aces cracked or a bad beat jackpot.

**Jackpot Drop** \- Chips taken out of a pot to support the promotions and jackpots offered by the poker room.

**Joker** \- A wild card which can be played in a poker game. In some games the joker is only good for aces, straights, and flushes. There are two jokers in a deck of poker cards; however, these are not normally used in games played in casino poker rooms.

**"K" Boys** \- Pocket kings. See also Cowboys.

**Keep You Honest** \- A call made to insure that the bettor or raiser really has a winning hand and is not just bluffing.

**Kicker** \- A player's higher card or cards which will break a tie when two or more players have the same pair, two pair, trips, or quads.

**Kill Pot** \- A hand which is played at a higher level than usual because a player has won two hands in a row and the second hand is large enough to activate the kill. In Omaha the kill is activated by a single player scooping the pot. A full kill is twice the amount of the big blind and the killer must place a blind bet in this amount before any cards are dealt. The hand is then played at twice the limit of a normal game. With a half kill the killer will post 150% of the big blind and the hand will be played at 150% of the limit of the normal game. A kill pot button will be placed in front of the killer face up.

**Kojak** \- A holding of a king and a jack.

**Ladies** \- A pocket pair of queens. See also Mop Squeezers.

**Late Position** \- The player on the button and one or two seats before the button who are the last to act behind both the early position and middle position players.

**Leakage** \- Chips taken off the table for the house rake, jackpot drop, dealer tips, wait staff tips, and food & beverage purchases.

**Leg Up** \- When a player has won the last pot in a game with a kill button. The player receives a button which says leg up on one side and kill pot on the other. If that player wins the next pot and it has a qualifying amount, they will turn the kill pot side of the button up and place a blind bet of twice the size of the big blind on that button. In a half kill pot the amount would be 150% of the big blind. The betting is then doubled (or 150%) of the normal stakes. The kill pot will continue until someone beats the "killer."

**Limp** \- When a player stays in a hand with a holding which is just marginal and where they don't want to put in any more than is required to see the flop, the turn, or the river.

**List** \- A manual or electronic board showing the players signed up for each game and limit that the poker room spreads. The names will be in chronological order with the first player to sign up at the top of the list.

**Live Straddle** \- A voluntary blind bet which is placed by the player just to the left of the big blind. The straddle is twice the size of the big blind and is considered to be a bet and not a raise. In poker rooms which do not allow a live straddle, this bet would be considered to be a blind raise and not a live bet.

**Loose Player** \- A player who will play a wide variety of hands and stay in hands with thin draws. This is a player who loves to gamble and one who is more likely to post a live straddle. See also Aggressive and Maniac.

**Made Hand** \- A five card poker hand which is already completed such as a straight, flush, or a full house. This is in contrast to a drawing hand which has only four of the five needed cards.

**Maniac** \- A very loose player who makes very bold, aggressive, and unconventional plays. This is definitely a player you want to have on your right. See also Aggressive and Loose Player.

**Middle Pair** \- After the flop the middle pair would be a pair of the middle ranked card on the board. With a flop like K-9-4, the middle pair would be a pair of nines.

**Middle Position** \- Those players who will act behind the early position players but before the late position players. This may be three or four players depending on how many players there are in the game and who's definition you are using. For this book the definition is the fourth through sixth players in a nine handed flop game.

**Missed Blind Button** \- A token placed in a players position on the table to indicate that the player has missed one or both blinds.

**Mixed Game** \- A cash or tournament game where different types of poker are played at the same table with the same players. Here the game changes at scheduled intervals. The Horse Tournament at the World Series of Poker is a mixed game. A dealer's choice format in a private or home game would also be a mixed game.

**Money Behind** \- Chips that have been ordered but have not arrived. These chips are playable even though the dealer will need to keep track of how many chips the player owes to the pot in which they are playing.

**Money Bubble** \- The point in a tournament where all the players left will receive a cash prize.

**Monster** \- An extremely powerful hand which is expected to win the pot.

**Montana Banana** \- A holding of a two and a nine. So called because it is as hard to win with this hand as it is to grow bananas in Montana.

**Mop Squeezers** \- A holding of two queens. This is a term which is not likely to be used or appreciated by female players. See also Ladies.

**Muck** \- A face down array of cards created by cards folded by players. A dealer will rake all discarded cards into the muck. Any cards to touch the muck are dead and can't be retrieved.

**No Bet Holding** \- A holding which does not qualify as a Single Bet Holding, Two Bet Holding, or Three Bet Holding. See the definitions of these holdings below.

**No Fold'em Hold'em** \- A facetious reference to low limit Texas Hold'em where players typically do not fold hands even those with little chance of winning.

**No Player Button** \- If a player is absent from the table with no chips, they will be able to ask the dealer to lock up their seat until they return. In this case a "no player button" will be placed in their position. A no player button may also be placed in front of a player who wishes to be dealt out of the hand or a new player who is waiting for the blinds to pass. See also Sit Out.

**Nut Hand** \- A hand which can't be beat.

**Nut No Pair** \- A pocket A-K when no player has a pair or higher hand.

**Off Suit** \- Cards in a players hand which are of different suits.

**Omaha** \- A flop game where each player gets a four card holding in addition to the five board cards to make their best five card hand. This can be played high-low split (8 & below) or straight high. The player must use exactly two cards from their four card holding.

**On a Heater** \- When a player has a string of wins and can't seem to lose. The term was coined because the explanation for their hot streak was that they must be sitting on a heater. See also Card Rack and On a Rush.

**On a Rush** \- When a player wins a series of pots close together. See also Card Rack and On a Heater.

**On the Button** \- In a flop game this would be the virtual dealer and the last player to act after the initial betting round. See also Dealer Button.

**On Tilt** \- A player is "on tilt" when they are not playing well because of a lost hand they expected to win or a series of bad beats. This term comes from the old pin-ball machines which would malfunction if they were pushed too hard.

**One Gapper** \- A holding of two cards which are one card apart (ie. 4-6, 8-9, J-K). These holdings often complete a straight.

**One Player to a Hand** \- The rule that states that a player can't get advice from someone else while they are in a hand.

**Open Ended Straight Draw** \- A hand where the player has four consecutive cards to make a straight and can make the straight by hitting a card on either end of the sequence and provides eight outs.

**Out Draw** \- When a player comes from behind to beat a player who already has a better hand.

**Outs** \- The number of cards which will give a player the hand, or hands, they are drawing for.

**Over Cards** \- Cards in a player's holding which are larger than the largest card shown on the board.

**Over Pair** \- A pair in a player's holding which is larger than any card on the board.

**Over the Top** \- A raise or re-raise.

**Overs Button** \- A button which allows a player to bet at a higher limit than normal for a particular table when only players with an overs button are in the hand.

**Paint** \- Those cards that have a face on them (jacks, queens, and kings). See also Face Cards.

**Pair** \- A hand with two cards of the same rank. This hand beats high cards but can be beaten by two pair or higher. The rank of the pair determines the best hand. If two players have the same pair then the rank of their kickers determines the best hand.

**Passive** \- A player who just calls or folds and seldom raises or re-raises. See also Calling Station and Station.

**Picked Up** \- When a player has been away from the table for more than the allowed time and there is a waiting list for that table, a house person will pick up that player's chips and give the seat to the first person on the waiting list. The chips will be available to the absent player at the poker room counter when they return.

**Piece of Cheese** \- A holding which is not worth playing. See also Cheese.

**Pigeon** \- A player who is easy to beat and to read. See also Donk, Donkey, and Fish.

**Player Out** \- The announcement that the dealer makes when a player at his table in a tournament has lost all their chips and busted out of the tournament.

**Playing the Board** \- When the board cards in a hold'em game make a better hand than a player can make using their holding cards.

**Playing the Player** \- When a player bases their action on their opponent rather than on the hand the player holds or the hand they believe their opponent has.

**Pocket** \- A player's unique holding cards which are face down. See also Holding and Hole Cards.

**Point Poker** \- A copyrighted game, which includes ten ranked cards in five suits. The game combines the points for each type of poker hand with the numeric values of the cards included in the hand. The combined total then determines the winner. The game can be played for money or for points like in gin rummy. A detailed description is provided in section 4.3 of chapter 4.

**Pokerish** \- The language, logic, and culture of poker. Also the title of the book _Pokerish: The Language and Logic of Poke_ r.

**Poker Face** \- A player's ability to keep the same expression and mannerism regardless of how good or bad of a hand they have. Not giving any tells or reactions.

**Poker Name** \- A name you use to sign up for a table in a poker room or online site. This can be your first name, a nickname, or any other name (Ace. Doc, Lucky, etc) you use consistently that is different than any other players poker name at the casino or online site where you are playing. For example you could be "Paul G." or "Lucky2943" where 2943 was your address.

**Pot** \- The collection of chips in the center of the table created by the blinds, antes, bets, calls, and raises of the players in the hand. The winner or winners of the hand will be awarded these chips at the conclusion of the hand. Players should not put their wagers directly into the pot. At the conclusion of each round of betting, the dealer will rake in all wagers into the pot before the next round of betting.

**Pot "A"** \- The first pot a player wins after they have set down at a table. Subsequent pots may be referred to as pot "B", pot "C", etc. This is usually a designation that a player makes about their own pot because they have had an inordinately long dry spell.

**Pot Committed** \- When a player is so far invested in a pot that they will stay in the hand and try and win, even if they are drawing very thin and only have a slight chance of winning.

**Pot Odds** \- A calculation made to justify a call where the player stands to make a profit taking into consideration their chance of winning the pot, the bet they are required to call and the size of the pot.

**Power Check** \- When a player folds their hand when they could just check and stay in the hand. This is done when a player thinks they have no chance to win the pot and just want to get out of the hand.

**Prize Pool** \- The amount of money designated for prizes in a tournament.

**Progressive Straddles** \- If a card room allows progressive straddles then a player may re-straddle if the player to their immediate right posts a straddle or a re-straddle. These bets are live and are not considered to be a raise. If the card room does not allow progressive straddles, these bets before any cards are dealt are just considered to be blind raises.

**Proposition Player** \- A player who is available to generate enough players to start a game. Most poker rooms will identify any prop players or shills. See also Shill.

**Pump It or Dump It** \- The aggressive philosophy that if a hand is strong enough to call it is strong enough to raise. Thus, the concept of raise or fold, rather than call.

**Quads** \- Four cards of the same rank in a five card hand. See also Four-of-a-kind.

**Quartered** \- When another player has the same hand as you do in a split pot game with three players where the third player gets half of the pot and the other two players get only one quarter.

**Rack** \- A plastic container which holds exactly 100 chips.

**Rags** \- Cards which do not, or probably will not, help a player make a good hand. See also Air Ball and Blank.

**Rail** \- A railing around a poker room that observers stand behind. Also a term used to designate observers as oppose to players.

**Rainbow Flop** \- A flop which produces three cards all of different suits.

**Raise** \- When a player increases the bet placed by a previous player. In a limit game this would be another full bet beyond the last bet at the betting tier level. In a no limit game the raise would need to be at least the size of the previous bet or raise but could be more. The only exception to this rule would be when a player is all in and does not have enough chips to double the last bet or raise. In a pot limit game the bet or raise can't be more than the amount already in the pot.

**Raise-Check** \- When a late position player raises, or an early position player check-raises, on the flop so that they can avoid a bet on the turn and get a free look at the river.

**Rake** \- Chips taken out of each pot as profit for the house. See House Rake.

**Rank** \- the value of a card. The rank of the cards from low to high would be 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-T-J-Q-K-A, except for a low hand where the order would be reversed and the ace would be the lowest card.

**Razz** \- A seven card stud game played straight low. This game does not require the low hand to be eight and below.

**Re-Buy** \- An amount of chips a tournament player is allowed to buy when they have lost all their chips and want to continue to play in the tournament.

**Re-entry** \- When a player is allowed to pay another entry fee and enter the second or third section of a tournament from which they have already busted out.

**Re-Raise** \- When a player raises a previous raise.

**Ring Game** \- A poker game played for cash.

**River** \- The fifth up card placed on the board in a Texas hold'em and other flop games like Omaha.

**River Rat** \- A player who frequently stays until the river where they hit their draw and win the pot.

**Rock** \- A very tight and conservative player. See also Tight.

**Rockets** \- This refers to pocked aces. This is because they look like rockets waiting for launch.

**Roll Your Own** \- When all of the cards dealt to a player in a stud game are face down and the player chooses to turn whatever cards up they wish. This is only done in private games. This allows the player to overstate or understate the value of their hand.

**Route 66** \- A pair of pocket sixes. Named after the famous song and the US highway which ran from the Midwest through the Southwest and ended in California.

**Royal Flush** \- An ace high straight where the T-J-Q-K-A are all of the same suit. This is the highest hand possible in a game without wild cards. In a card room all royal flushes are considered to be of the same value regardless of suit.

**Runner-Runner** \- A draw which requires two cards to make the hand. In flop games, runner-runner hands are made by hitting the right cards both on the turn and the river.

**Sailboats** \- Pocket fours, because four looks like the sail on a boat.

**Satellite Tournament** \- A tournament which rewards a winner with an entry into a more expensive tournament in-lieu of a prize.

**Scare Cards** \- Cards on the board which threaten three-of-a-kind, a flush, a straight, or a full house.

**Scoop the Pot** \- When a player wins both the high and low portions of the pot in a high low game.

**Semi-Bluff** \- This is a bluff by a player who is drawing and may make a strong hand if the right cards come on the board. A semi-bluff may result in the bettor winning the hand outright or disguise their hand if they do hit their draw.

**Set** \- This refers to three-of-a-kind. Specifically a set is a pocket pair with a matching card on the board, but in common practice people refer to any three-of-a-kind as a set. See also Three-of-a-kind.

**Sharks** \- Good poker players who look for and feed on the fish.

**Shill** \- A proposition player associated with the poker room. See also Proposition Player.

**Short Buy** \- The purchase of chips below the minimum normally allowed at a table.

**Short Handed Table** \- A hold'em (or Omaha) game with six or less players.

**Show One Show All** \- The rule that states that if you have shown your cards to anyone before the showdown that you can be required to show everyone at the table what you are holding, even if you have not been called.

**Side Pots** \- If a player is "all in", all further betting goes into a side pot. If two players are all in, then there will be two side pots and all further betting goes into the second side pot. There may be several side pots which are only available to those who have bet into that side pot.

**Single Bet Holdings** \- The number of bets a successful baseline player would call before the flop with A-T, pairs (deuce to eight), mid-level suited connectors (six to ten), and an ace with a suited kicker. Tight-passive and loose-aggressive players may differ from this standard.

**Sit Out** \- When a player stays at the table but asks the dealer to deal them out. In this case the dealer will place a no player button in front of that player until the player is ready to resume playing. Some players will sit out to eat a meal or to talk on the telephone. See also No Player Button.

**Slow Play** \- Playing a very strong hand passively to disguise the strength of that hand with the intent of trapping a player who holds an inferior hand and winning a bigger pot.

**Slow Roll** \- When a player does not expose the winning hand until everyone else has exposed theirs or mucked their hands and then when another player thinks they have won, the slow roller turns over the winning hand and does a "gotcha". This is very bad form and will give the player a very bad reputation.

**Slump** \- When a player is having a run of bad luck.

**Small Blind** \- In a flop game this is the first seat to the left of the dealer button who is first to act on all streets after the flop. The small blind is live and the player may either fold, call the amount necessary to satisfy the stay in the hand or raise, even if there have been no previous raises. The small blind is required to put out half of the full bet at the lower tier of betting before any cards are dealt.

**Snowmen** \- Pocket eights, because they look like two snowmen.

**Soft Break** \- When a player uses a large bill to buy chips from the dealer and wants change in currency.

**Speed Limit** \- A pair of pocket fives. This is because the national speed limit was 55 miles per hour for several years.

**Speed of Play** \- The number of hands per hour dealt at a table.

**Splash Pot** \- A pot where the house has placed an amount of chips in the pot before a hand is played. Normally this would be $50 to $100.

**Splashing the Pot** \- The act of throwing chips directly into the pot in violation of house rules.

**Split Pot** \- A pot which is divided evenly between two or more players because they have the same hand. Pots will also be split between the high and low winners in split pot games such as those described in "Split Pot Games" below.

**Split Pot Games** \- These are games where the pot will be split between two qualified winners. Normally this will be a high-low game such as Omaha, Tahoe, or eight and below, however, other games such as Chicago and high hand low pair also fall into this category. If the secondary category does not have a qualified winner, the entire pot will be awarded to the high hand winner. See section 7.2 of chapter 7 for a listing of these games.

**Station** \- A player who consistently calls but seldom raises. See also Calling Station and Passive.

**Steal the Blinds** \- When a late position player raises the big blind without a raising hand in hopes of winning the small and large blinds uncontested.

**Steal the Pot** \- When a player wins the pot with a bet or raise and is suspected of not having a winning hand.

**Steaming** \- When a player is not playing well because of an unexpected loss on an earlier hand or when they have been running bad for the entire session. This is because the player is hot under the collar and has steam coming out of their ears. See also On Tilt.

**Steam Rolling** \- When a player bets and raises on every street throughout a hand with the intent of driving most of their opponents out of the hand. Sometimes the player will actually have a hand or may be just be a loose-aggressive (or on tilt) player trying to create and win a huge pot with a random hand.

**Straddle** \- A voluntary live bet by the player to the left of the dealer which is twice the size of big blind and placed before any cards are dealt. See Button Straddle, Live Straddle, and Progressive Straddles.

**Straight** \- A poker hand where all five cards are in sequence. The highest card in the sequence determines the winning straight. If two or more players have the same winning straight, then the pot is divided evenly. A straight beats three-of-a-kind or lower and is beaten by a flush or higher.

**Straight Flush** \- A hand where all five cards are in sequence and of the same suit. If there are more than one straight flush in a hand then the highest card in the straight flush determines the winner. A straight flush beats four-of-a-kind or lower and is beaten by a higher straight flush.

**Streets -** Betting rounds. The term is used mostly in stud games as the streets in a flop game are usually referred to by name (flop, turn, and river).

**String Bet** \- An unannounced raise where the player puts out calling chips and then goes back for more chips to indicate a raise. The raising chips must all be put in the pot at the same time unless the player has verbally declared their intent to make a raise.

**Stuck** \- When a player has lost money and is forced to stay in the game and try to win back their loss.

**Stud** \- A seven card game where each player gets three down cards and four up cards to make their best five card hand. This can be played straight high or as a high low split (8 & below). Stud can also be played five card with one down card and four up cards.

**Stupid End of the Straight** \- The bottom end of a straight. See also Dumb End of the Straight.

**Suck Out** \- When a player gets lucky and comes from behind to win a pot. See also Out Draw.

**Sugar** \- The profit a player has made during a game.

**Suited Cards** \- A holding which has two cards of the same suit.

**Suits** \- There are four suits designated by color and symbol. The suits from low to high are clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades.

**Suited Connectors** \- This is a holding of two connecting cards (ie. 5-6, 8-9, T-J) of the same suit. This type of holding gives the player a draw at a straight, a flush and a straight flush as well as two live cards they can hit.

**Switch Hitting** \- When a player changes their predominate playing style (table image) during the course of a game.

**Table Change** \- A player may request to be moved to another table with the same game and limits. When such a seat becomes available the player will be moved to the new table before an unseated player fills that position. That unseated player will be moved into the seat vacated by the player who was moved.

**Table Image** \- The way a player is seen by the other players at the table. This would deal with both the aggressive to passive scale and the loose to tight scale. A player's table image will determine how their play is interpreted by the other players at their table.

**Tahoe** \- A flop game where each player is dealt a three card holding in addition to a five card board. The player can use any combination of these eight cards to make their best five card hand. Tahoe is a high-low split game (8 & below).

**Take One Off** \- When a player calls a on the flop so they can see if the single turn card will improve their hand. Since a bet here is still at the lower tier of betting, some players will make this play.

**Tells** \- Comments, quirks, or mannerisms which convey the strength of a players hand and how comfortable with the situation they are.

**Test the Water** \- When a player puts out a bet to see if it elicits a fold, call, or raise. This is usually done at the lower betting tier so that the player knows what they are up against as cheaply as possible. If the better gets raised by a tight player they may just fold their hand and cut their losses.

**The Nuts** \- The nut hand would be the best possible hand. The nut straight flush would be a royal flush. The nut quads would be four aces, the nut full house would be aces full of kings, the nut flush would be an ace high flush, and the nut straight would be an ace high straight.

**Thirty Miles** \- Three tens.

**Three Bet Holdings** \- The number of bets a successful baseline player would call before the flop with A-A, K-K, Q-Q, A-K, and A-Q suited. Tight-passive and loose-aggressive players may differ from this standard.

**Three-of-a-kind** \- A hand with three cards of the same rank. This beats two pair or below and is beaten by a straight or higher. The highest ranking three-of-a-kind wins. The winner in a flop game where more than one player has the same three-of-a-kind will be determined by the kicker or kickers.

**Tight** \- A player who is very conservative and plays only premium cards. See also Rock.

**Time** \- A statement a player makes when they need extra time to make a decision when it is their turn to act.

**Time Out** \- A penalty levied against a tournament player for the infraction of a rule. During this penalty period, measured in rounds of play, the player's hand is dealt and then automatically folded. However, the player is required to post any blinds and antes required by their position in the betting sequence.

**Top Pair** \- After the flop the top pair would be a pair of the highest ranked card on the board. With a flop like K-9-4, the top pair would be a pair of kings.

**Tournament** \- A poker game played for prizes rather than cash.

**Tournament Life** \- The time that a player is in a tournament until they are beaten or win.

**Trap** \- When a player intentionally plays a very strong hand passively so that they can get another player to bet an inferior hand. A trap by an early position player will be sprung with a check-raise. See also Check-Raise and Slow Play.

**Trash Talk** \- Rhetoric used by a player to get an opponent angry so they will make mistakes and divulge information as a result of their emotional reaction to the trash talk.

**Tree Top Straight** \- An ace high straight (T-J-Q-K-A). See also Broadway.

**Trips** \- Three cards of the same rank in a five card hand. See also Set and Three-of-a-Kind.

**Turn** \- The turn is the forth card turned up on the board in Texas hold'em and other flop games like Omaha.

**Twenty Miles** \- Pocket tens.

**Two Bet Holdings** \- The number of bets a successful baseline player would call before the flop with J-J, TT, 9-9, A-Q, A-J, K-Q, K-J, and any two suited cards ten and above. Tight-passive and loose-aggressive players may differ from this standard.

**Two Pair** \- A hand which includes two pairs. Two pair will beat a single pair and is beaten by three-of-a-kind. The highest ranking pair determines the strength of the two pair. If the highest pair are the same for two players, then the rank of the second pair determines the winner. If two players have the same two pair then the rank of the kicker determines the winner. If the two pairs and the kicker are the same, the hands tie and the pot is split.

**Under the Gun** \- This refers to the first one to act after the big blind or bring in bet.

**Union Oil** \- A holding of a seven and a six. This is because a blue 76 on an orange ball is the logo for the Union Oil Company.

**Walking Sticks** \- A pair of pocket sevens.

**Wheel** \- A five high straight (A-2-3-4-5). See also Bicycle Straight.

**World Poker Tour** \- A series of televised international poker tournaments held at various locations throughout the world.

**World Series of Poker** \- An annual collection of poker tournaments held in Las Vegas each year. These tournaments feature several different poker games, at various levels, with various entry fees, in no limit, pot limit, and limit categories. The main event is a no limit Texas Hold'em tournament with a $10,000 entry fee, where each of the nine players at the final table will usually win a million dollars, or more, in prize money.
Conclusion

Over the years I have had many of my friends and acquaintances question me about what playing in a casino poker room against strangers and serious poker players is like. Most of these folks have played poker in less formal settings and at less expensive stakes, but are reluctant to jump into the unknown waters of a casino poker room, even at the lowest stakes offered in these establishments.

Much of their reluctance is based on a fear of being a "fish out of water" and not knowing what to expect. This is also the case with those who have considered tournament poker and various games of poker with which they are unfamiliar. They may also be confused by the betting dialog, rules, structure and unique terms used in poker.

The purpose of this book is to share my experience in all of these venues in a number of different settings. My objective, therefore, is that this information be beneficial to veteran players, new players and potential players alike. Hopefully this book will improve your game and your enjoyment of the game as well.

You are now ready to move on to **_More Pokerish_** _: Poker Skills and Insights_ , the second book of the Pokerish series. That book will cover Pokerish Observations, Pokerish Skills, Pokerish Insights, and the Pokerish Environment. It also covers the five games of the Pokerish Horse, Pokerish Online, Pokerish Simulation Software, and some Pokerish Humor.

# About the Author

Doc Eade has played in licensed poker rooms for over twenty-five years in a number of different settings. He has played various cash games and tournaments in over fifty casinos and public poker rooms in seven states. These venues have ranged from licensed card rooms with a single house person to large Las Vegas casinos like Binion's, the Bellagio, and Caesar's Palace. They have included cowboy casinos in South Dakota, riverboat casinos in Louisiana, Indian casinos in Arizona, Colorado, Oregon & Washington, non-Indian casinos & card rooms in Washington, and cruise ships in international waters.

Doc has played in back room games, private games, and home games with differing levels of congeniality. He also played in cash games and tournaments at various online poker sites when this was still legal in the United States. He has utilized several poker simulation software packages to hone his skills. Although his primary game is Texas hold'em he has also played Omaha, razz, seven card stud, eight & below, draw poker, and various other games.

From this experience he has gained an understanding of and appreciation for the Pokerish culture with its unique language, statistics, customs, etiquette, values and rules. Although he has not made a fortune in this arena, he has discovered a hobby with both financial and recreational benefits, which he now wants to share with the readers of this book.

Doc Eade is a Pokerish citizen and a veteran of numerous poker skirmishes. He has demonstrated courage in the face of superior forces and emerged victorious. However, he also has several Pokerish purple hearts for wounds incurred on the felt of battle.

He holds a B.A. degree in Economics from Central Washington University, an M.B.A. degree in Business Administration from the University of Utah, and a Ph.D. degree in Higher Education from the University of Washington. His working career ran the gambit from an Air Force Squadron Commander, to a Corporate Financial Officer, to a College Vice President, to the Commandant of a Leadership Academy in the Air National Guard. He is currently a Senior Partner of an Alternative Energy Engineering firm.
