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   Poker is a classic gambling game played with a standard deck of cards. The object of the game is to arrange groups of cards together into sets commonly known as "hands." Gameplay variations are so numerous that players often agree to "dealer's choice," in which the dealer gets to pick the variation each deal. At Yahoo!, the variation played is known as hold 'em, the same game that is played in many major poker tournaments.

   standard deck of playing cards consists of 52 cards and 2 jokers. There are 4 suits

   Hearts Clubs Spades Diamonds

   which are broken into ranks (Ace, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Jack, Queen and King).

   The Jack, Queen and King are commonly called face cards or picture cards and are often the most powerful in the deck.

   The most versatile card in the deck is the Ace. Depending on the game, the Ace can be either the most valuable card of suit (worth more than the King) or the least important (worth less than the Two).

   The Joker does not have a suit and is not used in any Yahoo! Games.

   ante

   a bet that all players must put into the pot before a hand; or to make such a bet

   bankroll

   the amount of money a player brings to use in a game

   bet

   to wager money by putting it into the pot, which other players must at least match to stay in the game; or the amount of money so wagered

   bluff

   to bet with a poor hand in the hopes that the other player or players will fold rather than call

   deal

   to distribute the cards to the players

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   dealer

   the player who deals the cards

   deuce

   another name for a two

   discard

   a card removed from a player's hand

   draw

   to take a card

   hand

   the cards dealt to a player; or the entire deal

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   house

   the establishment where the game is played

   kitty

   the undealt cards, one of which is initially turned faceup

   partners

   two players who sit across from one another and act as a team

   run

   another word for a sequence

   sequence

   three or more cards of consecutive rank, all in the same suit

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   set

   three or four cards of the same rank

   stock

   the pile of undealt cards that is placed facedown after the deal, and from which players may draw

   suit

   one of the four kinds of cards in a deck, denoted by sgabols and known as (spades), (hearts), (diamonds), and (clubs); for bidding purposes

   wild card

   a card that can be used to stand for any other card;

   General Rules

   Poker is a betting game. Each player begins with a stake, or amount of money. At the beginning of each hand, each player typically places a small amount of money, known as the ante, into the center of the table. (Some forms of poker use alternatives to antes such as blind bets, which are used in hold 'em.) This forms the beginning of the "pot," which will go to the winner of the hand. At certain times during the deal and play of a hand, players may make additional bets, increasing the value of the pot. Whenever a player bets, other players must match the bet in order to continue playing. Players may also raise (increasing the amount of the bet) or fold (drop out of the hand, in which case they cannot win but will lose nothing more than what has previously been wagered).

   A hand of poker is won by the player with the highest-ranking hand among the players who are still in the game at the end of the betting. The object of playing poker, however, isn't simply to win a lot of hands--it's to win as much money as possible. Over a series of many deals, successful players will be ones who maximize their winnings on the deals they win while minimizing their losses on the deals they don't win.

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   Next: Hands

   Hands

   A poker hand consists of five cards. Depending on the poker variation being played, these may be the only five cards a player has, or they may be the best set of five cards the player can make from a larger set. From highest to lowest, cards rank as follows: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. For purposes of forming a straight or straight flush, aces can also be considered lower than 2s.

   Poker hands rank as follows, from highest to lowest:

   Straight flush: five cards in sequence, all the same suit, such as

   The highest possible straight flush, AKQJ10 of one suit, is also known as a "royal flush," as in

   Four of a kind: four cards of the same rank (plus any fifth card), such as

   Full house: three cards of one rank, plus a pair of another rank, such as

   Flush: five cards of the same suit, e.g.,

   Straight: five cards in sequence, such as

   Three of a kind: three cards of the same rank, plus two other unmatched cards, e.g.,

   Two pair: two cards of the same rank, plus two other cards of a different rank, plus one unmatched card, e.g.,

   Pair: two cards of the same rank, plus three other unmatched cards, such as

   Nothing: any hand not meeting the requirements of a pair or higher hand, e.g.,

   A hand of higher rank always beats a hand of lower rank. Thus, even though aces and kings are the highest cards, the hand 2-2-2-2-3 beats a hand of A-A-A-K-K because four of a kind is always higher than a full house.

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   Next: Tie Breaks

   Tie Breaks

   When two hands are of the same rank, tiebreak depends on the type of hand.

   For straight flushes, flushes, straights, and nothing, the hand containing the highest card wins. Thus, the straight Q-J-10-9-8 beats the straight J-10-9-8-7. (It would also beat 5-4-3-2-A, because the ace is being used as a low card.) If there is a tie between high cards, the second-highest cards are compared, and so on downward, until one card is higher than another. For example, the flush A-10-4-3-2 beats the flush A-9-8-7-6 because the 10 is higher than the 9. If all five cards are identical except for suit, the hands are equal and the pot is shared equally. (For example, a royal flush in spades would tie with a royal flush in diamonds.)

   For four of a kind, three of a kind, and pair, the hand with the higher ranking matched set wins; e.g., 7-7-7-3-2 beats 6-6-6-A-K because sevens are higher than sixes. Unmatched cards matter only if the sets are equal; e.g., K-K-J-3-2 beats K-K-9-8-7 because the jack beats the 9.

   For full houses, the highest three of a kind determines the winner, and the rank of the pairs is irrelevant (except to break ties, as could happen in a wild card game or a game with community cards).

   For two pair, the hand with the highest pair wins.

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   Next: Rules of Hold'em

   Rules of Hold'em

   The form of poker played at Yahoo! is known as Hold 'em. Each player is dealt two cards facedown, one at a time; then there's a round of betting. Next, three cards (the "flop") are turned faceup on the table; these are community cards, which all players may use as part of their hands. A round of betting follows, after which another community card (known as the "turn card" or "fourth street") is turned faceup. Then there's another round of betting, after which a final community card (known as the "river card" or "fifth street") is exposed. After a final round of betting, remaining hands are compared to determine the winner. Each player uses the five community cards and the two cards he or she was dealt to make the best five-card hand possible. It's perfectly legal to use only the community cards to form a hand, though a player who does this can only hope to tie anyone else who stays in.

   General Betting Rules

   Poker games are subject to widely varying betting rules. In most games, known as "limit" games, there is a maximum amount players may bet or raise, as well as a maximum number of raises (a "cap") allowed per round of betting. In most limit games, early rounds of betting have a lower limit than later rounds. High-stakes games are sometimes "pot limit" games, in which the current size of the pot determines the maximum allowable bet, or "no-limit" games, in which players' bets are limited only by the amount of money they brought to the table. The set of rules governing betting in a particular game is known as the betting structure.

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   Next: Betting Structure of Hold'em

   Betting Structure of Hold 'Em

   Instead of all players anteing to start the pot, at Yahoo! the first two players to the dealer's left are required to make blind bets each hand (bets made without looking at their hands). The first player's bet, known as the small blind, is half the size of the second player's bet, which is known as the big blind. The dealer is identified throughout the hand with a yellow dot.

   Betting limits are fixed. All bets and raises must be one of two sizes, either small or big, with a big bet being twice the size of a small bet. A small bet is the same size as the big blind (and twice the size of the small blind). In the first two rounds of betting--that is, after the pocket cards are dealt and after the flop--small bets and raises are made. In the last two rounds of betting--after each of the last two community cards is dealt--big bets and raises are made. There is a cap of five raises per round

   There are several different betting options at Yahoo!. Players can "Call" (bet the same as the previous player), "Check" (in effect, betting zero; this is an action taken by a player who does not wish to bet or fold, and who does not need to call because no one else has bet in the round. Sometimes a checking player will say "pass" to mean "check"), or "Raise." Players have 30 seconds to place a bet (clicking "Thinking", however, will give a player an extra 20 seconds). Not betting at all is considered a check.

   action

   betting activity

   advertise

   to give an impression of being a loose bettor, hoping to get other players to take one's bets less seriously later in the session

   all-in

   in a table stakes game, a player who puts all his or her remaining chips in the pot is "all-in" and cannot be driven out of the competition for the main pot by further raises (bets above the amount the all-in player puts in form a side pot that only the other players are eligible to win)

   ante

   a bet that all players must put into the pot before a hand; or to make such a bet

   back door

   in games (such as Hold 'em) in which the last two cards are dealt separately, a method of making a good hand by using both those cards

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   back into

   to make an unexpectedly good hand different from the hand one was drawing for

   bankroll

   the amount of money a player brings to use in a game

   bet

   to wager money by putting it into the pot, which other players must at least match to stay in the game; or the amount of money so wagered

   bicycle

   another name for a wheel

   big bet

   in games with betting limits, the larger of the allowable bets, usually reserved for later rounds

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   big blind

   the larger of two blind bets in Hold 'em, or the player making such a bet

   blind (or blind bet)

   a bet a player makes before looking at his or her cards; similar to an ante except that not all players make the bet, though they must at least match it to stay in

   bluff

   to bet with a poor hand in the hopes that the other player or players will fold rather than call

   board

   in Hold 'em or other flop games, the community cards; or the up cards in stud poker

   boat

   another name for a full house

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   bottom pair

   in Hold 'em, a pair consisting of a down card and the lowest of the three flop cards

   bullet

   another name for an ace

   bump

   another word for raise, as in "I'll bump you 10."

   burn

   the discard of a card from the top of the deck before a deal or at particular times during the hand, helping to insure the honesty of the deal; in Hold 'em, a card is typically burned before the flop, turn, and river cards are dealt

   busted hand

   a hand with nothing, typically one in which a player drew for a straight or flush and failed to even get a pair

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   button

   a marker used to mark the dealer position, or the position of the player who acts last in a round of betting if, for example, there is a nonplaying house dealer

   buy a pot

   to make a large bet, usually early in a hand, in hopes of driving all the other players out

   buy-in

   the amount of money or chips a player brings to a game, or that is required to enter a tournament

   call

   to make a bet equal to the current bet, thereby staying in the hand (compare raise, fold)

   cap

   the maximum number of raises allowed in a round of betting, as determined by player agreement

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   case

   the fourth (and final) card of a rank; "the case ten"

   check

   in effect, a bet of zero; an action taken by a player who does not wish to bet or fold, and who does not need to call because no one else has bet in the round. Sometimes a checking player will say "pass" to mean "check."

   check-raise

   a check followed by a raise by the same player in the same round of betting, sometimes prohibited in social games

   chip

   a round disc commonly used as a substitute for money during a game, with different colors being used to represent different denominations; a player normally buys into a game by exchanging cash for a chips, and cashes out by selling chips back (if the player has any left) at the end of the game

   community cards

   in certain forms of poker, cards that are dealt faceup and may be used by all the players as part of their hand; in Hold 'em, the last five cards are all community cards, and each player makes the best five-card hand possible from those five cards and his or her two hole cards

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   cowboy

   another name for a king

   cut

   after a shuffle, the division of a deck into two stacks and placement of the stack that had been on the bottom on top; all cards remain facedown throughout the cut

   deal

   to give out cards to the players, as well as to turn over any community cards

   deal me in

   a phrase indicating that a player will play the next hand

   deal me out

   a phrase indicating that a player will not play the next hand

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   dealer's choice

   a common form of poker in home games in which the dealer chooses the form of poker to play (including naming of any wild cards) each hand

   declare

   to indicate what one is attempting to win, as a decision of whether to "go high," "go low," or "go both ways" in a game of high low; declarations in a high-low are usually made simultaneously by each player taking two chips below the table and bringing up a closed fist containing zero (for low), one (for high), or two chips (both ways).

   deuce

   another name for a two

   discard

   to remove one or more cards from one's hand and place them facedown out of play, usually before drawing new cards to take their place

   draw

   to take one or more cards, usually after making a discard; any of several forms of poker in which players discard cards and take new ones, as distinguished from flop games and stud games; see five-card draw, jacks or better

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   draw to (a particular kind of hand)

   draw in an attempt to make a certain hand, e.g., "drawing to a straight"

   drop

   another word for fold

   equity

   the expected value of a pot to a player; the product of the amount of money in the pot and the chance the player will win the hand

   favorite

   the hand most likely to win at a given point in a hand

   five-card draw

   the form of poker most often seen in movies and TV shows; each player receives five cards, then discards some or all of them and receives replacement cards from the deck (or the player may stand pat); rounds of betting occur before and after the draw. In some circles, a player is limited to discarding up to three cards, or four cards when retaining an ace or wild card. See jacks or better (a common version of five-card draw) and lowball (a variation where low hand wins)

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   five-card stud

   a form of stud poker in which each player is dealt one hole card (facedown) followed by four up cards, with a round of betting after each up card.

   flop

   in Hold 'em, the three community cards that are dealt at once; also, any of several forms of poker played with community cards, as distinguished from draw games and stud games

   flush

   a hand in which all five cards share the same suit

   fold

   to drop from a hand (instead of calling)

   forced bet

   a bet that a player is required to make, such as a blind bet

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   fourflush

   a hand with four cards of the same suit; normally worthless unless it can be improved to a flush, a fourflush has occasionally been ranked just above a pair by players following nonstandard rules

   four of a kind

   four cards of the same rank

   free card

   a card players need not pay to see, as when everyone checks in a round of bidding

   full house

   a hand consisting of three of a kind and a pair; in comparing full houses, the ranks of the threes of a kind are compared first, the pairs only being relevant if the threes of a kind are identical (i.e., in a game with wild cards or community cards)

   gutshot

   drawing to an inside straight, i.e., attempting to complete a straight when missing a card inside a sequence of held cards

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   hand

   a deal and its play; also, the cards held by a particular player, or the best type of hand (pair, straight, etc.) a player can make with his or her cards

   heads-up

   playing with only two players

   high

   best in rank, said of a hand, a card, or a set of up cards; e.g., "a king-high straight"; or in a stud game "ace-jack is high" (and is therefore first to bet)

   high-low

   a game, such as seven-card stud high-low, in which the pot is split between the highest hand and the lowest hand, and in which each player must declare, prior to the final round of betting, whether he or she is trying to win as the high hand, the low hand, or both (in which case the player must, in most games, win both ways to win at all). In some games, straights (such as a wheel) and flushes are allowed to count as low hands (i.e., in going low, they are better than a pair).

   hit

   to make or improve a hand by getting a favorable draw or flop; opposite of miss

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   Hold 'em (or Texas Hold 'em)

   a popular form of poker, and the one played at Yahoo! and many poker tournaments. Each player is dealt two pocket cards, then three community cards are turned faceup ("the flop"), then a fourth community card (the "turn card" or "fourth street") and finally a fifth community card (the "river card" or "fifth street"), with rounds of betting after the pocket cards, the flop, and each of the last two cards, as well as two blind bets at the start (instead of antes)

   hole

   the initial down card or pair of down cards in a stud game

   house

   the establishment where poker is played, which usually takes a cut, or "rake," from the pot and which determines house rules

   inside straight

   a kind of draw in which a player attempts to complete a straight missing one of the cards in the middle of a sequence, and which therefore has only half the chance of success of drawing to a straight open at both ends

   insurance

   a side bet to protect against a particular outcome, usually an outcome that is relatively unlikely

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   jacks or better

   a form of five-card draw in which a player must Hold at least a pair of jacks to open the betting; if no one can open, players ante again, the deal rotates, and in many circles the opening requirements rotate to queens or better, followed by kings, aces, and back to jacks

   joker

   an extra card, two of which come with most standard decks of playing cards, sometimes used as a wild card

   kicker

   in a hand consisting of a pair, two pair, three of a kind, or four of a kind, the highest unpaired card; if players tie with identical pairs, trips, or quads, their kickers are compared to break the tie

   large bet

   another name for a big bet

   limit

   the maximum amount or fixed amount that may be bet or raised in a given round in a game; or, in general, any poker game in which there are limits, as distinguished from no-limit games. Some limits are "spread limits," which set minimum and maximum bets and raises instead of fixed amounts. See pot limit; no limit; table stakes.

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   live card

   a card that has not been seen and which therefore still has a chance of being drawn or dealt

   live hand

   a hand still in the game

   lock

   a hand guaranteed to win at least a share of the pot

   loose

   an unconservative style of play in which a player stays in more and folds less often; compare tight

   low

   ranking below other hands, as is desirable in some games such as lowball and high-low seven-card stud; in some games, straights and flushes are allowed to count as low hands (i.e., worse than a pair), making a wheel the best possible low; a hand described as an "8 low" has an 8 as its highest card, with no pairs

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   lowball

   five-card draw in which the low hand wins the pot

   main pot

   in a table stakes game, the portion of the pot matched by a player who goesall-in, as distinguished from the side pot--bets the all-in player could not match--which the all-in player is not eligible to win

   make

   to draw to or be dealt a good hand; e.g., "the player drew one card to a flush and made it"

   middle pair

   in Hold 'em, a pair consisting of a down card and the middle ranking of the three flop cards

   miss

   fail to hit

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   no-limit game

   a game in which no limit is placed on the amount that may be bet or raised; usually, however, a player is limited to money brought to the table (see table stakes)

   nuts

   another word for a lock

   odds

   a ratio expressing the likelihood of an outcome; e.g., "the odds were 4 to 1 against making the flush" means there was 1 chance in 5 of making it; see also pot odds

   open

   to make the first bet in a round

   open-ended straight

   a kind of draw in which a player attempts to complete a straight by drawing a card at either end of a four-card sequence, and which therefore has twice the chance of success of drawing to an inside straight

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   out

   a card that is likely to make a hand a winner

   overcard

   in Hold 'em, a card of higher rank than the highest card on the board

   overpair

   in Hold 'em, a pocket pair higher than the highest card on the board.

   pair

   two cards of the same rank

   pass

   another word for fold; sometimes used to mean "check"

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   pat

   in a draw game, a hand to which no cards are drawn

   pig

   in high-low poker, a player who declares both ways

   playing a hand

   staying in at least part way through a hand (instead of folding as soon as someone bets)

   playing the board

   in Hold 'em, staying in even though one's pocket cards are useless and one's best hand consists of the community cards

   pocket cards

   the two cards dealt facedown in Hold 'em, or the two hole cards dealt first in seven-card stud;

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   pocket pair

   two pocket cards of the same rank

   pocket rockets

   a pair of aces in the pocket

   poker

   a large family of related card games normally played for stakes either in homes, casinos, or at Yahoo!, in which players attempt to form the best five-card hand; standard types of hands (full house, straight, pair, etc.) have relative rankings that are universally recognized, although the object of a poker game may be either to have the highest-ranking hand or the lowest-ranking. See draw, flop, and stud for three main categories of poker games.

   position

   a player's place at the table in relation to the order of betting; players "have position" on players who bet before them

   position bet

   a bet made at least in part because of one's position; e.g., if everyone before the dealer checks and the dealer bets, the dealer may be trying to steal the pot by taking advantage of his or her position

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   pot

   the money (usually represented by chips) that goes to the winner or winners of a hand

   pot-limit

   a game in which bets and raises are limited to the current size of the pot

   pot odds

   the ratio of the amount of money in the pot to the amount of money a player must bet to call

   quads

   another word for four of a kind.

   qualifier

   in some high-low split games, a minimum requirement that a hand (usually the low hand) must meet to be eligible to win part of the pot (such as an 8 low or better).

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   rack

   a device that holds poker chips

   raise

   to increase the size of a bet during a round of betting

   rake

   a cut taken by the house, most often by removing money from each pot or by charging an hourly rate to play

   rank

   a card's number or name; "ace," "two," "three," etc. are ranks

   read

   to understand how an opponent plays and thereby gain insight into what cards the opponent holds

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   represent

   to bet as though one has a particular type of hand, whether or not it's true

   re-raise

   a raise that comes after another raise in the same round of betting

   river card

   the fifth and final community card dealt in Hold 'em or other flop games; also called "fifth street"

   round

   a series of actions by all the players in a game, beginning with a check or bet and ending when everyone has either called or folded; or a series of hands in which each player deals once

   royal flush

   an ace-high straight flush, the highest possible poker hand (unless wild cards are used, in which case five of a kind is higher)

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   sandbag

   to bet a strong hand as though holding a weak hand, in hopes of encouraging other players to stay in and win a larger pot; slowplay

   semi-bluff

   a bluff made with some chance of winning the hand in a showdown

   set

   three of a kind, two of which are hidden in the hole

   seven-card stud

   a form of stud poker in which each player is dealt two hole cards (facedown) followed by four up cards, followed by a down card, with a round of betting after each up card and after the final card.

   showdown

   after the final round of betting, a comparison of the hands of the players still in the game to see who wins the pot

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   shuffle

   to mix the cards before a deal

   slowplay

   another word for sandbag

   small bet

   in games with betting limits, the smaller of the allowable bets, usually reserved for later rounds

   small blind

   the smaller of two blind bets in Hold 'em, or the player making such a bet

   split pot

   a pot divided between two or more players, either because their hands tie or because of playing a high-low or other split-pot game

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   stack

   a pile of chips or money

   steal a pot

   to win a pot by making a bet when everyone else has shown weakness, and which succeeds in driving everyone else out of the hand

   straight

   five cards of consecutive rank, with aces counting as either high or low

   straight flush

   five cards of consecutive ranks, all of the same suit

   street

   in Hold 'em, "fourth street" is the fourth community card and "fifth street" is the final community card; in seven-card stud, the first up card is called "third street," the next up card "fourth street," and so on

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   structure

   the set of rules governing antes, blinds, and the betting limits in a game

   stud

   a form of poker with most cards dealt faceup one at a time and rounds of betting after each up card, as distinguished from draw games and flop games; see five-card stud and seven-card stud (the most common forms)

   suit

   the symbols on a card (clubs, diamonds, hearts, or spades)

   table

   the surface on which a game is played, or the group of players playing there; also used like "board" to refer to community cards

   table stakes

   the rule that limits a player's bets to the money he or she brings to the table

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   Texas Hold 'em

   another name for Hold 'em

   three of a kind

   three cards of the same rank

   tight

   a conservative style of play in which a player stays in less and folds more often; compare loose

   top pair

   in Hold 'em, a pair consisting of a down card and the top ranking of the three flop cards

   trips

   another word for three of a kind.

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   trey

   another word for a three

   turn card

   the fourth community card dealt in Hold 'em or other flop games; also called fourth street

   two pair

   a hand consisting of two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and a fifth card of still another rank

   under the gun

   a term used to describe the position of the first player whose turn it is to bet after the blind(s)

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   up

   when used after the name of a card rank, "up" indicates a holding of two pair, the higher ranking of which was just named; e.g., "aces up" means a pair of aces and another pair

   up card

   a card that is dealt faceup in a stud game

   wheel (also called bicycle or bicycle wheel)

   a hand consisting of A2345, the lowest possible straight; in some games played for low, the best possible hand

   wild card

   a card that can be used to stand for any other card; in a game with wild cards, five of a kind outranks a straight flush

   

   posted by takis28

   Jan. 28 2005 1:06pm