Poker Games

Hi Low Poker

In a limit game, the percentage against the player who starts with high cards is by no means so great, since proportionately more chips are bet on the first rounds than in the latter stages. Nevertheless, this percentage is there, and the player who likes to start out with high card stud is an absolutely sure loser in any Seven-Card High-Low Game.
In this game, more than any other, a player must constantly bear in mind the fact that once he puts chips in the pot they are not his any more; and if you keep getting cards which do not help your hand, while other poker players' cards appear to be of value, you had better get out immediately. As an example, suppose your first three cards are the ace, two, and four of spades as good a holding as you could wish to have-and you probably raise on the first Card. Now you get the king of diamonds and, while your ardor is somewhat cooled, you nevertheless stay for a fifth card, which turns out to be the queen of clubs. Hi Low Poker

Poker Holdem

This is a Seven card game in which each player is dealt two cards and there is a five-card center. Originally, the center cards were turned one at a time and there were six rounds of betting. This game was called "Omaha," and it was a very poor game since no one stayed with low cards. Then professional gamblers in South Australia improved the game by turning up the first three center cards at the same time. They also gave the game its present name, and it is a really fine form of poker. In fact, the world's championship tournaments of poker as played in Australia are Table Stake Hold'em. We don’t recommend Table Stake Hold'em as your regular game. Hold'em is most fun if played with an ante by the dealer, one or two compulsory blind bets, and a compulsory raise equal to the blind bet. Hold'em can be played by twenty-one people, but the best number is from seven to ten players. Poker Holdem

Poker Tournaments

The other day I played in a six-table Holdem tournament. The poker room people broke down the live action games and started the tournament. I swear over 60 percent of the players did not alter their style of play one bit (or one bet) from live action to tournament play. Obviously, they did not discern that live action and tournament demand dramatically different styles of play. Let me illustrate: I saw one player defend his blind with a trash hand (7-4 off suit) against a raise and two players who called the raise. I don't care what your chip situation is (his was about average), you have no business in that hand against some obviously good hands. Poker Tournaments

Seven Card Stud

As the name suggests, seven-card stud is a stud game with seven cards, in which four are up and three are in the hole. Each poker player selects five of his or her cards to make the best hand (the other two cards are irrelevant to the outcome of the game). With several rounds of betting, pots can get pretty big pretty quickly, and betting intensifies in the late rounds. Seven-card stud is a fun game and hands take longer to develop, which entices many players to stay in longer. The three hole cards provide suspense and opportunities for bluffing. Seven- card stud is also demanding good players keep a close eye on their opponents’ up cards, notice how their opponents’ betting changes with each new card, and remember what cards have been folded. Seven Card Stud