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A beginners guide can be found below for
small fry, but don't be misled by the confident swagger of a HighHander
- we get things wrong sometimes too and the biggest cause of stress
is when hands tie. The following is the definitive guide to what
wins where:
Rules of poker
The rules that HighHanders
use are taken from the standard rules of poker.
If two or more hands are the same ranking, the winner is the one
having the higher cards (no shit...). For
example, a Flush Ace high beats a Flush King high. If the poker
hands remain tied, then the highest card not being held in common
(the kicker) determines the winner. Only the 5 cards making
a hand are used. This is not rocket science.
Confusion comes from the misconception that suits are used in poker.
They are never used in poker as suit has nothing to
do with poker ranking. A good tip for all those muppets out there
is to make sure you have these hand rankings
memorized! We've all come a long way since University when suit
was thought important - ahhh... what foolish youths we were...
Should poker hands be absolutely identical in ranking, the rule
is that the pot gets split evenly between the two or more winning
players, e.g.:
If when the pot is split there is an odd chip, it shall be donated
towards the next hand's ante.
HighHander House Rules
- A player must give one rounds notice before leaving the game.
- In a regular game, a player can call himself 'all in' before
any hand is dealt. This means he cannot buy any more money from
the bank that evening. He is effectively closing his account for
the night. It is only in these circumstances that a side pot is
ever needed.
Wild Card Rules
The rankings do not change when using wild cards. Two identical
hands split the pot evenly.
It doesn't matter if one person has a clean hand (no wilds) and
the other is full of wild cards - in poker, cleanliness is irrelevant
(although after a long night at the tables bodily hygiene usually
is an issue). Anyone trying to pull a fast one will be put in the
HighHander "Sin Bin" for a week and given an even more
humiliating poker name than Cinderella (this applies to all forms
of inadvertent cheating).
The Ranking Order *
*see below for an explanation
| WORST |
1. Highest
card
2. 1 pair
3. 2 pairs
4. 3 of a Kind
5. Straight
6. Flush
7. Full House
8. Poker
9. 5-of-a-kind
10. Straight Flush
11. Smith and Wesson |
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BEST |
Matters of Contention
The Jacket is only competed for if there are 5 or more players
on the table. Once there are 4 players left on the table, the jacket
winner is decided, but the poker can continue.
Learning and resources
Clearly the HighHanders don't need any assistance here (how
many cards in a flush?), but we all know various suckers,
I mean friends who are interested in learning the beautiful game
or improving their technique.
What I'd like is for people to contact me with any good poker websites
they know of outlining technique etc. These can then be mentioned
here and we can all benefit.
Being a bit of a computer geek myself I like the idea of a poker
computer game. I've got Thursday
night poker which is pretty good if you don't raise like a loony
(contact me if you have trouble registering
the program). Also, Si has another program that's pretty good but
I forget the name. If you know more then please get in touch.
Additionally, there is talk of adding to our numbers by recruiting
some lowhanders to join our fold, but
this idea is currently on hold.
Personally I know a fair few people who want to learn poker and
I think it's a great idea to help others into the wild and tempestuous
world of poker. In many cases people have heard of the HighHanders
and are in awe of our exotic mysteriousness - well, who can blame
them?
These potential cash machines
- sorry - players obviously need training up before they are even
allowed to sniff at a HighHander table, so below is a quick run
through of how the game basically works:
Poker 101
Okay, there's like a million
poker sites out there to teach you the game, so I recommend
you google for a proper guide, but to wet your appetite, here are
the very basics:
Poker is played from a standard pack of 52 cards (some variant
games use multiple packs but us HighHanders feel this is not pure
and should never be attempted). The cards are ranked (from
high to low) Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2,
Ace. (Ace can be high or low, but is usually high). There are four
suits (spades  ,
hearts  , diamonds
 and clubs
 ); however,
no suit is higher than another.
The idea is to have 5 cards that make a "hand". Confusingly
some variations of the game mean that you may not personally have
exactly 5 cards in your possession, but maybe more (thus choosing
5 of them) or less (and have to choose some from a shared supply).
Confused? Look at the following:
You have 5 cards in your possession: |
Basic 5 card stud
Many people consider this "pure" poker because
all of the odds which govern poker are based on 5 cards. In
this game each player is dealt five cards of their own: One
down, followed by 4 up cards. There is a round of betting
after the first up card and after each subsequent card dealt.
Whether you win is based on the 5 cards in your hand. Simple. |
| You have more than 5 cards in your possession |
7 card stud
Each player is dealt seven cards of their own: two down,
then four up, and a final card down. There is a round of betting
after the first up card and after each subsequent card dealt.
At the showdown you pick 5 cards from the 7 in your possession. |
| You have less than 5 cards in your possession |
Texas Hold'em
This is the poker game cowboys are usually seen playing in
movies, and the game we play at the tournaments,
where each player gets dealt two cards to them face down,
while five community cards are dealt face-up on the table.
The strength of a player's hand is the best hand that can
be made with these seven cards. There is a round of betting
after the pocket cards are dealt, after the first three community
cards (the flop), after the fourth (the turn
card), and after the final (the river) card. |
So remember - all poker hands contain five cards, with the highest
hand winning. The hand rankings are always the same though no matter
what game variation you're playing.
Some games have Wild Cards, which can take on whatever suit and
rank their possessor desires. Wild cards are specified before the
hand (deuces, one-eyed jacks, or whatever). (Note:
in theory, in some game variants with wild cards, it's statistically
more likely to get a straight flush than 5-of-a-kind, but to make
life easier this is ignored, and the rankings below always remain
fixed).
Hand Rankings Explained
As above, the possible hands are ranked
as follows (from low to high):
- High Card
- Often known as a cool
hand. If nobody has a pair or better, then the highest card
wins. If multiple people tie for the highest card, they look at
the second highest, then the third highest etc. e.g.:
Player A has: 3-5-7-9-K
Player B has: 3-4-5-7-Q
Then Player A
wins with the King high.
- Pair
- One pair with three distinct cards. High card breaks ties. e.g.:
Player A has: 3-5-7-7-9
Player B has: 4-5-7-7-Q
Then Player B
wins with the Queen high.
- Two Pair
- This is two distinct pairs of card and a 5th card. e.g.: 3-3-9-9-J
The highest pair wins ties. If both hands have the same high pair,
the second pair wins. If both hands have the same pairs, the highest
5th remaining card (the kicker) wins.
- Three of a kind
- Three cards of any rank, matched with two cards that are not
a pair (otherwise it would be a Full House) e.g.: 2-4-5-5-5
Again, highest three of a kind wins.
- Straight
- A straight is all 5 cards in order, such as 5-6-7-8-9.
An ace may either be high (10-J-Q-K-A) or low
(A-2-3-4-5). However, a straight may not "wraparound".
(Such as Q-K-A-2-3, which is not a straight).
The suit of the 5 cards is irrelevant, and all 5 cards
must be used.
When straights tie, the highest card in the straight wins, e.g.:
Player A has: 3-4-5-6-7
Player B has: 5-6-7-8-9
Then Player B
wins with the 9 high.
If two straights have the same value (7-8-9-10-J
vs 7-8-9-10-J) they split the pot.
- Flush
- A flush is a hand where all of the cards are the same suit,
such as 3-6-7-10-Q, all of spades. The order
of the 5 cards is irrelevant, and all 5 cards
must be used.
When flushes ties, it's the same as Straights (above) where the
highest card wins.
- Full House
- A full house is a three of a kind and a pair, such as 5-5-K-K-K.
Ties are broken first by the three of a kind, then pair. So 3-3-K-K-K
beats 7-7-Q-Q-Q. (The pair only becomes important
in wild-card games where it's possible for players to both have
identical three-of-a-kind's).
- Poker
- This is also known as a "Four-of-a-kind" and is simply
four cards of the same rank, e.g.: 4-4-4-4-7.
When pokers tie, the highest card in the poker wins, and someone's
gonna lose a lot of money, e.g.:
Player A has: 5-5-5-5-7
Player B has: 8-8-8-8-9
Then Player B
wins with the 4 eights.
- 5 of a kind
- Have a guess what this is - if you can't figure it out you're
definitely allowed at my table, just bring a lot of money. 5-of-a-kinds
are obviously only possible when there are wild cards available.
- Straight flush
- A straight flush is the best natural hand. A straight flush
is a straight ending in Ace where all 5 cards are of the same
suit, eg: 10-J-Q-K-A all in Spades.
If both players have Royal Straight Flushes they split the pot.
Player A has: 9-10-J-Q-K
all in diamonds
Player B has: 10-J-Q-K-A
all in spades
Then Player B
wins with the Ace high and jumps around the room shouting "Who's
your Daddy? Huh? I'm your Daddy biatch!" Player
A starts weeping uncontrollably, pounding the
table and thinking of how he really shouldn't have betted his
house and girlfriend.
- Smith and Wesson
- It's a gun. Fastest one wins. Gotta love those Westerns.
Betting
So, how do you bet? Poker is, after all, a gambling game. In most
games, you must 'ante' something (the amount varies by game, but
it's usually the lowest chip value available e.g.: 10p), just to
get dealt cards.
After that, players bet into the pot
in the middle. At the end of the hand, the highest hand (that hasn't
folded... *cough* Origami...) wins the pot.
Basically, when betting gets around to you (betting is typically
done in clockwise order starting left of the dealer), you have one
of 5 choices:
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- Check
- If nobody has made a bet yet, you can choose to "check"
and not bet either. Betting then passes onto the player
to the left of you. You are still in the game, but have
not put any money in (yet).
- Bet
- Say the dealer has just dealt some cards, then the person
to the left of the dealer starts and can choose to either
"check" (not bet any money) or bet some money.
How much? Well that's up to them and their cards!
- Call
- When you call, you bet enough to match what has been bet
by someone to the right of you (for instance, if someone
to your right bets a quid, you "see"
them and put in a quid too. Alternatively, if you had bet
a quid last time, and someone else has subsequently bet
£1.50, you would owe 50p).
- Raise
- When you raise, you first bet enough to match what has
been bet since the last time you bet (as in calling), then
you 'raise' the bet another amount (up to you, but there
is typically a limit.) Continuing the above example, if
you had bet a quid, the other person raised you 50p, you
might raise another £2.00 (feeling lucky?). Since
you owed the pot 50p for calling and £2.00 for your
raise, you would put £2.50 into the pot. You can only
raise if someone has raised before you - if you made a bet
and everyone called you, you can't re-raise - you should
have bet more!
- Fold
- When you fold, you drop out of the current hand (losing
any possibility of winning the pot), but you don't have
to put any money into the pot. Personally I feel this is
one of the lynchpins of poker - it's not knowing when to
attack that's the most important - but when to get the hell
outta there! Then again... War is not about dying for your
country, it's making the other b*stard die for his! Charge!!
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Betting continues until everyone calls or folds
after a raise or initial bet.
An Example: Five Card Draw
Five card draw is one of the most common types of poker hands.
Each player is dealt five cards, then a round of betting follows.
Then each player may discard up to 3 cards (4 if your last card
is an ace or wild card, in some circles) and get back (from the
deck) as many cards as he/she discarded. Then there is another round
of betting, and then hands are revealed (the showdown) and the highest
hand wins the pot.
Say you are the dealer at a five card draw game (against four other
players, Antonia, Brian, Charly and Danny (seated in that order
to your left). Everyone puts 10p into the pot (Ante) and you deal
out 5 cards to each player.
You deal yourself a fairly good hand K-K-J-5-3.
A pair of kings isn't bad off the deal (not great, but not bad).
Then the betting starts...
Antonia 'Checks'. Brian bets 50p. Charly calls (and puts a 50p
into the pot). Danny raises a quid (and puts £1.50 into the
pot). Well, it's your turn. £1.50 to you. You can fold, call
or raise. Like I said before, pair of kings isn't bad, not good
but not bad. You call and put £1.50 into the pot. Back to
Antonia, who grumbles and tosses her cards into the centre of the
table, folding. (Note, when folding, never
show your cards to anyone). Brian calls. The total bet is £1.50,
but he had already bet 50p, so he owes a quid, which he tosses into
the pot. Charly is in the same position as Brian, and tosses a
quid into the pot.
The round of betting is over. After Danny's raise, everyone else
folded or called (there weren't any raises) so, everyone is all
square with the pot. Now everyone can discard up to 3 cards. Brian
discards 3 cards, Charly discards one card, Danny discards two
cards. (You deal replacements to everyone) and now it's your turn.
You have a pair of kings, three spades, and no chance for a straight.
It's best to just keep the two kings and hope to get a 3rd or fourth
king. You discard three cards, and your new hand is: K-K-K-4-8.
Three Kings! A nice little hand.
What do you suppose the others were trying for? Well, Brian kept
two cards, so he probably had a pair (just like you) but it probably
wasn't aces, so even if Brian got a three of a kind, you probably
beat him. Charly kept four cards, so he was probably trying for
a straight or flush. (If Charly had four of a kind, he might have
bet much harder). The big problem is Danny. He raised earlier, and
only drew two cards. He might be bluffing, but he could have had
three of a kind off the deal... In any case, the second round of
betting starts (with dealers left).
Brian bets a quid. Charly folds (I guess he didn't get his straight
or flush). Danny raises 2 quid (to a £3.00 total). You call.
Brian looks at his cards, then calls (throwing in £2.00).
Again, everyone called Danny's raise, so the round of betting is
over.
Well, the betting is over, everyone reveals his hand:
You had K-K-K-4-8.
Brian had J-J-3-3-A.
Danny had Q-Q-Q-A-7.
Well, the highest hand is three of a kind, and the highest three
of a kind is your three kings. You kicked Danny's scrawny ass!
Conclusion
It doesn't take long to learn poker (the list of card rankings,
and the way betting works) but it takes a lifetime to learn how
to play. All you need is time, patience, and well...
money.
If you have any comments / suggestions / abuse please contact
me and the world will be a better place. Thanks.
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