Archive for the ‘Poker’ Category
Let’s learn some different type of poker other than Texas holdem, 7 card stud, 5 card draw and Omaha. Yes, pai gow poker. Now you must be wondering that pai gow sounds little Chinese; yes you are right this game is a mixture of the Chinese game pai gow and our very own American poker. Definitely this is not one of the most popular forms of poker but still widely played. It can be played by up to seven players.
It is played with one deck of 52 cards, plus a joker. Interestingly, joker can be used only as an ace, or to complete a straight, a flush, a straight flush, or a royal flush. The important thing here to remember is other than the usual ranking of hands we have one more winning hand that is “Five Aces” (five aces including the joker). Surprisingly, five aces beat all other hands including royal flush.
Each player is dealt seven cards. The cards are arranged to make two hands; a two card hand and a five card hand. The five card hand must rank higher or be equal to the two card hand. Finally both of your hands must rank higher than both of your opponents hands (both five and two card hands). Further the two card hand can only have two combinations; one pair and high card.
After the cards are arranged in to two hands, they are placed on the table face down. Once you put them down, you can no longer touch them. The dealer will turn over his cards and make his hands. Each players hand is compared to the dealer’s hands. If the player wins one hand and loses the other, this is known as “push” and no money is exchanged. If dealer wins both hands then he/she wins the players stake and vice versa. Now what if there is a tie, the only advantage with the dealer here is he/she wins all ties.
After the hand is played, the next person clock-wise becomes the dealer and the next hand is played. The major disadvantage to this game is that there is no skill involved and you rely too much on luck. Also the odds are poor compared to playing with a pot.
One of the most important things to do is to ensure there is plenty of alcohol at all times, the middle of a strip poker game is no time to have to go on a beer run. When purchasing alcohol try to remember to bet more then just beer. Many girls do not like to drink beer; they may prefer tastier cocktails like a daiquiri or red bull and Vodka.
When choosing the people you are going to invite to your game take some time to think this thru. The last thing you may want to do is to invite an immature friend who is going to be screaming and making a jerk out of him self. Another thing you do not want is a girl who spends all her time in Online poker rooms, because they may be better then you and who wants that.
When choosing the girls you are going to invite, remember you are hopefully going to see them naked. Do not invite any girls you would not want to see nude. If one of the girls insists on bringing her unattractive friend and, she gets nude and you make a rude remark, not only will the girls get angry at you and you friends they will probably get dressed and leave and they will definitely think your friends are jerks. Another thing to remember is to always try to bring the same number of girls as guys, because lets face it 9 times out of 10 if you are playing strip poker you are trying to hook up with the girls and if there is less girls then guys the girls may get freaked out and if there are more girls then guys one girl may get left out and remember girls stick together so if one is alone there is a good chance no one will hook up.
When throwing a strip poker game at home you have to remember that people will be getting naked and drunk, this is not your weekly home game there is no need to put out any real food maybe some chips, nuts and small snack foods like that. Do not serve any thing too filling or gassy.
And the last thing to remember is that as soon as the guests arrive for the game start them drinking. Inhibitions are lowered by alcohol and the lower the inhibitions the better the game, but also remember as the host of the strip poker game you are responsible for the safety of these girls as well as the guys. Make sure to stay sober enough yourself to know the difference between right and wrong.
Poker has the distinction of being one of the oldest card games around. A universal game that can be played anywhere and at anytime, poker transcends languages and locations, and not just confined to casinos or bars. Its burgeoning popularity has given rise to many different types of poker games such as Texas Holdem, Omaha, Seven Card Stud, Better High-Low Stud and various others. It is one of the most popular online gambling games around, as seen with the huge rise in the number of dedicated online poker rooms and poker clubs.
But before you wear your shades, strap on the green visor and throw down your life’s savings, you are going to have to know when to hold’em and when to fold’em. It’s probably a good idea when learning the rudiments of the game, to have a firm grasp of the Poker hand rankings and the unique language that you’ll hear at the poker table. Burn this information to memory; you’ll be glad you did. After all, even though you might be new to this game, there is no need for the other players at the table to know.
Having a strategy going into this game is very important if you want to be taken seriously and convince other players you are the bees knees. So here are some of the basic points you need to keep in mind to keep you one step ahead of your fellow players. The best place to start is at some of the online poker rooms so that you can perfect those skills and variables before playing in the real world
Quick Reminders:
1. When you have a rubbish hand, fold fast.
2. Do not pretend that you are a big spender poker player unless you have the bankroll to back it up. A rule of thumb is that you should have at least 50 times the table limit to play with.
3. If you are lucky enough to hold an unbeatable hand, remember Nicholas Cage in Honeymoon in Vegas and make sure you make the players pay dearly to see it.
4. The first 5/7 cards you receive will be the foundation of your hand. Build your strategy around these. You’re not likely to better your opening hand and the odds of improving your hand on the draw are about even.
5. You will soon discover who the strong players are at the table, but it is important that you focus on your own game rather than focusing on trying to beat them. You may risk losing big time if you’re not lucky. If you’re lucky enough to win, it’ll hardly be worth the effort.
7. Commit this to memory: If you can’t beat the other hands, don’t join them, fold and live to play another day. The table will always be ready when you are. Above all else, try to have fun.
8. Unpredictability can be good. Most pros are able figure out a really loose player by waiting for the nuts and being patient. However, an even easier opponent is a tight player or “rock”, who plays only the Group 1 type hands. You need to change your game up, and let them see that you can run bluffs, and play some lower value starting hands as well. These changes should be subtle and shouldn’t dramatically affect the flop rate.
9. Always learn from others; never be complacent that you know it all. That just gives other players the chance to take advantage of your weakness.
An exciting feature unique to online poker is the ability to play at multiple tables at the same time. Certain card rooms have restrictions on the number of simultaneous tables you can have running, however many have recently enabled players to join up to four poker games at once!
As the variety of poker software continually improves we are seeing custom options also developing to assist in the fun and viability of multi-table play. Reknown for their innovative poker sofware, Ultimate Bet has had a ‘mini-view’ feature that has been popular for quite some time. For those lucky enough to have minimum screen resolution of 1600 x 1200 , Poker Champs has view options that can fit up to 6 tables running fully visible on your desktop. Most players for now will content themselves with moving around different poker tables as well as a lobby accross their desktop into patterns that seem the most appropriate depending on the seating at their tables.
With the prospect of earning more rake from the same players, the poker rooms have been very keen to promote their multi-table capabilities. The debate on whether each of us should actually play more than one table at once usually depends on our poker skill, playing styles and goals.
Recreational players seem to be mostly divided into two camps. Some players love the action, and enjoy playing tons of hands. The pure number of cards being dealt and almost constant action is the only way these players will really pay attention to the game and come out winners, otherwise they are easily bored and distracted by elements outside the game, often proving very costly. others that enjoy a more friendly and relaxed slow-pace game with side chatting. Any players that are easily confused or frusturated at making a strategy or possible a clicking mistake should be forwarned about the pitfalls of playing too many tables.
More serious players also have varying ideas on the subject that usually fall into main two view points. Some pros, intent on maximizing their winnings, will argue that a profitable player would earn at least a percentage of their hourly profit rate at each additional table they play at. Even if the profits per table are somewhat reduced, the total wins should be greater, justifying multi-table action. There are other excellent players that will insist certain playing styles, particularly those that heavily rely on reading other players, need the focus of only playing one table at a time, otherwise losses will likely occur on all fronts as their style is put to a disadvantage.
The practice of playing in tournaments and side games simultaneously has increased, adopted mostly by tournament enthusiasts looking to earn the same card room player rewards as the rest of the cash game players. This trend is only expected to grow as the past year showed many poker software upgrades enabling multi-table options at card rooms that were previously lacking the ability.
Online poker is becoming increasingly popular among players and online gamblers all over the world. Most of them are in favour of Texas Hold’em. Another exciting variation of poker shall be explained in detail below though. Let ‘Em Ride poker is a variation of poker with the exception that the player solely plays against the house and thus does not compete against the dealer or other players.
The player is dealt three cards and the dealer is dealt two. Using all five cards the objective of the poker game is to get any winning poker hand consisting of a pair of 10’s or higher. After placing the ante bet, the player receives three cards face up, while the dealer receives two cards face down. Then the player decides whether or not he wants to raise the original bet, by the same amount as the original bet, or continue without a raise to the next round of play.
Once the player decides to raise or continue, the dealer’s first card will be shown. Now the player has yet another opportunity to raise or continue. If he decides to raise, the bet will again increase by the original bet amount. After the player raises or continues, the dealer’s second, last card is shown.
The player’s hand is evaluated as a normal poker hand, after the dealer’s last card is shown, combining the player’s three cards and the dealer’s two cards. If the player has a pair of tens or any higher winning poker hand, the player wins. And otherwise the player loses.
Finally the question arises whether it makes sense to study reactions or habits of all players at the table to make a more or less informed decision. A decision that normally constitutes itself in a bet, raise, reraise, check or fold. No, it does not. Remember only one player is involved in Let ‘Em Ride Poker games. One needs to emphasize this once again as many people still only associate poker with Texas Hold’em.