A standard game of poker may
consist of any number of deals, also referred to as
hands. During each hand, players are dealt cards,
wagers are made, and the player with the strongest
hand does his or her best to win the pot of money
collected during the wagering.
While a single hand of poker
can consist of many betting rounds, the actual
number of players finishing a hand varies as the
game goes on. Because players may continue to make
bets and add to the pot or drop out if they feel
their hand is not competitive, the game involves
strategy as well as the luck of the deal. Further
adding to most games are the traditional dealing of
extra cards as players remain in the game, those
cards replacing strategically disposed of cards that
had been previously dealt.
During the final betting
round, if more than one player is still in the game,
those players reveal their cards to determine who
has the best hand. The player with the best hand has
the good fortune of collecting the entire betting
pot that has been created during the prior betting
rounds.
In a traditional game of poker
played at home, players take turns dealing the
respective hands with the rotation moving clockwise
around the. In a casino however, there is one
"house" dealer, but with similar rotation to ensure
that the betting and card delivery is rotated among
the players. To ensure fairness and deck that has
not been tampered with, at the beginning of each
deal, the shuffled deck is presented to the player
to the dealer's right to be cut. After that player
cuts the deck, the dealer reassembles the cards and
deals the hand.
In a traditional game, each
player is asked to put a re-occurring amount of
money in the pot to be able to participate in the
next hand. These initial funds are referred to as
forced bets and after they have been paid, the
dealer will deals the first round of cards, one at a
time, clockwise, starting with the player directly
to the dealer's left. How those cards are dealt as
well as how many are distributed depend upon the
particular poker game selected.
After completing the initial
deal, the first betting rounds gets underway.
Players interested in staying in the game must again
be ready to put forth a specific bet that will then
go to the pot. To better keep track of the bet,
players generally place their bets in front of them
until the round is over, then slide the finds into
the pot before the next round of betting. Depending
on the style of poker and the game being played,
each player has essentially three options when it is
their turn. Those include:
To Fold: A player with a weak
hand may want to simply get out of the game as fast
as he can. When a player folds or passes, he puts no
further funds in the pot, puts his cards aside and
then becomes a spectator for the rest of that hand.
Obviously, when a player folds he is out of the game
with no shot at the pot.
To Call: A call allows a
player to keep his cards and continue with a chance
to win the pot. In this instance the player must
make his total bet for the round match the current
bet amount. As an example, if the player to the
person's right placed a total of $10 in the pot,
then the player must match the $10 in the pot to
call. If earlier the player had already placed $3 in
the pot during this round, then the player must
provide an additional $7 to bring his total bet up
to $10.
To Raise: Instead of matching,
the player may increase the current bet by betting
more than the amount sufficient to call. Players
still in the game now must either provide a matching
amount if they want to continue to have a chance at
the pot. If a player raises while every other
remaining player folds, the raising player takes the
pot on the spot and no cards are ever shown.
In most forms of the game, a
player may not raise a bet amount if that player
first set the amount during the hand. Once the game
moves to that player a second time, that betting
round is closed. In all instances, all players will
have either called the amount or folded and all
remaining players will have bet the same amount.
Again, after the first betting
round is complete, many games proceed with the
dealing of additional cards followed by further
rounds of betting, always adding to the existing
pot. The ability to bluff is critical because if at
any time during a betting round one player makes a
bet while all other players fold, the deal ends
immediately. The player still in is awarded the pot
and no cards are shown.
After going through the
predetermined distribution of additional cards, the
final round of betting may lead to several players
still in the hand. After each has continued by
placing the proper call bet in the pot, players show
their hands. The individual with the best hand wins
the pot.
A Sample Deal of Draw Poker
With Two Rounds
Let's go through a sample deal
with four players participating. Suppose that Tom is
dealing, and the players directly around the table
going from Tom's left are Matthew, John, and James.
For this game, the standard in ante is a dollar.
After all players put a buck
in the pot. Tom slides the deck to his right and
asks James to cut it. Tom then proceeds to deal five
cards to each player, handing them out one at a
time, starting with Matthew. Matthew therefore casts
the first bet. Because there is no bet yet
established, Matthew can call by declaring check -
in doing so no betting amount has been established
but Matthew is still in the game. John, looking at a
solid hand, decides to start the betting by putting
$5 bucks in front of him. This $5 bet is considered
a raise because the prior bet amount had been zero.
To now stay in, James must
match the $5 bet at a minimum, and he does so,
sliding the money in front of him. John has now
called and remains in the game. Tom, the dealer,
looking at three aces in the original five cards,
slides ten dollars in front of him, raising the
first round bet to that figure. Matthew, John, and
James now all have the opportunity to stay in by
matching Tom's ten dollar bet. Matthew, looking at a
mediocre hand decides to cut any potential losses by
folding immediately. In this instance he is out a
buck. John, who started the initial betting decides
he wants to stay in - he then moves an additional $5
(on top of his original $5) to the pile to match the
amount established by Tom and effectively calls
Tom's bet. James feeling the pot is already too
high, decides to fold, but even this early in the
game he is out $6, the original $1 ante and the
first $5 call to stay in.
With that, the first betting
round is complete and the money is slid from in
front of the players to the pot (which totals $29).
The second round begins with just John and Tom left
in the game. The second round begins with the
players being able to seek new additional cards and
discarding unwanted ones. In draw poker, the number
can vary - Tom discards one while John discards two.
After receiving two new cards, John is now first to
cast a bet as all others have folded and he is the
first player to the dealer's left. His hand has not
improved with the new cards, so John checks, betting
no additional funds. Tom, still holding the three
aces bets another $10. John now has two options,
match the bet and call or fold. Thinking Tom is
bluffing, John matches the ten dollar bet pushing
the pot to $49. If the game consists of two rounds,
then the two players now reveal their cards. Tom's
three aces top John's pair of threes, so Tom takes
the entire $49 pot, posting a $28 gain on the hand
(minus the $21 previously bet). Meanwhile John is
out $21, the initial one dollar ante, and the two
ten dollar bets.
