well described by Seymour, in his chapter on “Brag,” in the “Court
Gamester,” 1719: “The endeavour to impose on the judgment of the rest
who play, and particularly on the person who chiefly offers to oppose
you, by boasting or bragging of the cards in your hand. Those who by
fashioning their looks and gestures, can give a proper air to their
actions, as will so deceive an unskilful antagonist, that sometimes a
pair of fives, trays or deuces, in such a hand, with the advantage of
his composed countenance, and subtle manner of over-awing the other,
shall out-brag a much greater hand, and win the stakes, with great
applause and laughter on his side from the whole company.”
Quite a number of card games retain the feature of pairs, triplets,
sequences, and flushes, but omit the element of brag or bluff, and
can therefore hardly be considered full-blooded members of the poker
family. Whiskey Poker, for instance, has really little or nothing in
common with the true spirit of poker, and is simply the very ancient
game of Commerce, played with five cards instead of three. The
descriptions of this game in the earliest Hoyles betray its French
origin; particularly in the use of the piquet pack; the French custom
of cutting to the left and dealing to the right; and the use of the
words “brelan,” and “tricon.” In later descriptions of the “new
form” of Commerce, about 1835, we find 52 cards are used, and dealt
from left to right, and the names of the combinations are changed to
“pairs-royal,” “sequences,” and “flushes.”
There appears to be little or nothing modern in the game of Poker
but the increased number of cards dealt to each player, which makes
it possible for one to hold double combinations, such as two pairs,
triplets with a pair, etc. The old games were all played with three
cards only, and the “brelan-carré,” or four of a kind, could be made
only by combining the three cards held by the player with the card
which was sometimes turned up on the talon, or remainder of the pack.
The blind, the straddle, the raise, the bluff, table stakes, and
freeze-out, are all to be found in Bouillotte, which flourished in the
time of the French Revolution, and the “draw” from the remainder of the
pack existed in the old French game of Ambigu.
The first mention we have of poker in print is in Green’s Reformed
Gambler, which contains a description of a game of poker played on
a river steamer in June, 1834. The author undertook a series of
investigations with a view to discovering the origin of poker, the
results of which were published in the N.Y. Sun, May 22, 1904. It would
seem that poker came from Persia to this country by way of New Orleans.
The French settlers in Louisiana, recognizing the similarity between
the combinations held in the newcomer from the East, _as nas_, and
those with which they were already familiar in their own game of poque,
called the Persian game poque, instead of _as nas_, and our present
word, “poker,” seems to be nothing but a mispronunciation of the French
term, dividing it into two syllables, as if it were “po-que.”
There is no authoritative code of laws for the game of Poker, simply
because the best clubs do not admit the game to their card rooms,
and consequently decry the necessity for adopting any laws for its
government. In the absence of any official code, the daily press is
called upon for hundreds of decisions every week. The author has
gathered and compared a great number of these newspaper rulings, and
has drawn from them and other sources to form a brief code of poker
laws, which will be found amply sufficient to cover all irregularities
for which any penalty can be enforced, or which interfere with the
rights of any individual player.
DRAW POKER.
_=CARDS.=_ Poker is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards,
ranking: A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2; the ace being the highest or
lowest in play, according to the wish of the holder, but ranking below
the deuce in cutting. In some localities a special pack of sixty cards
is used, the eight extra cards being elevens and twelves in each suit,
which rank above the ten, and below the Jack. It is very unusual to
play Poker with two packs.
[Illustration: 11♣ 12♣]
_=COUNTERS, or CHIPS.=_ Although not absolutely necessary, counters are
much more convenient than money. The most common are red, white, and
blue circular chips, which should “stack up” accurately, so that equal
numbers may be measured without counting them. The red are usually
worth five whites, and the blue worth five reds, or twenty-five whites.
At the beginning of the game one player should act as banker, and be
responsible for all counters at the table. It is usual for each player
to purchase, at the beginning of the game, the equivalent of 100 white
counters in white, red, and blue.
_=PLAYERS.=_ Poker may be played by any number of persons from two
to seven. When there are more than seven candidates for play, two
tables should be formed, unless the majority vote against it. In some
localities it is the custom for the dealer to take no cards when there
are eight players, which is thought to make a better game than two
tables of only four players each. When the sixty-card pack is used,
eight players may take cards.
_=CUTTING.=_ The players who shall form the table, and their positions
at the beginning of the game, must be decided by throwing round a card
to each candidate, face up, or by drawing cards from an outspread pack.
If there are more than eight candidates, the four cutting the highest
cards should play together at one table, and the others at another
table. If there are an even number of candidates, the tables divide
evenly, but if the number is odd, the smaller table is formed by those
cutting the highest cards.
The table formed, the pack must be shuffled and spread, and positions
drawn for. The player cutting the lowest card has the choice of seats,
and must deal the first hand. The player cutting the next lowest has
the next choice, and so on, until all are seated.
_=TIES.=_ If the first cut does not decide, those tying must cut again.
Should two or more players cut cards of equal value, the new cut will
decide nothing but the tie; for even should one of those cutting to
decide a tie draw a card lower than one previously cut by another
player, the original low cannot be deprived of his right. For instance:
there are six players.
[Illustration:
First cut is:-- 🂥 🃘 🃋 🂷 🃞 🃈
Second cut is:-- 🂴 🃒
]
The 5 and 7 have the first and second choice of seats; the 2 and 4 the
third and fourth choice.
_=PLAYERS’ POSITIONS.=_ There are only three distinctive positions at
the poker table: the _=dealer=_; the _=pone=_; and the _=age=_. The
pone is the player on the dealer’s right, and the age is the one on his
left.
_=STAKES.=_ Before play begins, or a card is dealt, the value of the
counters must be decided, and a _=limit=_ must be agreed upon. There
are four limitations in Draw Poker, and they govern or fix the maximum
of the four principal stakes: the blind; the straddle; the ante; and
the bet or raise.
The _=blind=_ is the amount put up by the age before he sees anything,
and should be limited to one white counter, as the blind is the
smallest stake in the game. In some places it is permissible for the
age to make the blind any amount he pleases within half the betting
limit; but such a practice is a direct violation of the principles of
the game, which require that the amount of the blind shall bear a fixed
proportion to the limit of the betting.
The _=straddle=_ is a double blind, sometimes put up by the player to
the left of the age, and like the blind, without seeing anything. This
allows the player on the left of the straddler to double again, or put
up four times the amount of the original blind. This straddling process
is usually limited to one-fourth of the betting limit; that is, if the
betting limit is fifty counters, the doubling of the blind must cease
when a player puts up sixteen, for another double would carry it to
thirty-two, which would be more than half the limit for a bet or raise.
The _=ante=_ is the amount put up by each player after he has seen his
cards, but before he draws to improve his hand. The terms “ante” and
“blind” are often confused. The blind is a compulsory stake, and must
be put up before the player has seen anything. He does not even know
whether or not he will be dealt a foul hand, or whether it will be a
misdeal. He has not even seen the cards cut. The ante, on the other
hand, is a voluntary bet, and is a sort of entrance fee, which is paid
before the hand is complete, but after the first part of it has been
seen. The ante is always twice the amount of the blind, whatever that
may be. If the blind has been increased by the process of straddling,
the ante must be twice the amount of the last straddle, but must not
exceed the betting limit. This is why the straddles are limited.
The largest _=bet=_, or _=raise=_, which a player is allowed to make is
generally known as _=the limit=_. This limit is not the greatest amount
that may be bet on one hand, but is the maximum amount by which one
player may increase his bet over that of another player. For instance:
If no one has bet, A may bet the limit on his hand; B may then put up a
similar amount, which is called _=seeing=_ him, and may then _=raise=_
him any further sum within the limit fixed for betting. If B raises the
limit, it is obvious that he has placed in the pool twice the amount
of the betting limit; but his _=raise=_ over A’s bet is within the
betting limit. If another player should raise B again, he would be
putting up three times the limit; A’s bet, B’s raise, and his own raise.
In the absence of any definite arrangement, it is usual to make the
betting limit fifty times the amount of the blind. That is, if the
value of the blind, or one white counter, is five cents, the limit of a
bet or raise will be two dollars and a half, or two blue counters. This
fixes the ante at two white counters, or ten cents, in the absence of
straddles, and limits the straddling to the fourth player from the age,
or sixteen white counters. This proportion makes a very fair game, and
gives a player some opportunity to vary his betting according to his
estimate of the value of his hand. Where the blind is five cents, the
ante ten, and the limit twenty-five, the game ceases to be Poker, and
becomes a species of _=show-down=_. It is universally admitted by good
judges that a player can lose more money at twenty-five cent show-down
than he will at two-and-a-half Poker.
There are several other variations in the manner of arranging the
stakes and the betting limits, but they will be better understood after
the game itself has been described.
_=DEALING.=_ The age having put up the amount of the blind, and the
cards having been shuffled by any player who chooses to avail himself
of the privilege, the dealer last, they are presented to the pone to be
cut. The pone may either cut them, or signify that he does not wish to
do so by tapping the pack with his knuckles. Should the pone decline
to cut, no other player can insist on his so doing, nor do it for him.
Beginning on his left, the dealer distributes the cards face down one
at a time in rotation until each player has received five cards. The
deal passes to the left, and each player deals in turn.
_=IRREGULARITIES IN THE DEAL.=_ The following rules regarding the deal
should be strictly observed:--
If any card is found faced in the pack the dealer must deal again.
Should the dealer, or the wind, turn over any card, the player to whom
it is dealt must take it; but the same player cannot be compelled to
take two exposed cards. Should such a combination occur, there must
be a fresh deal by the same dealer. If the player exposes his cards
himself, he has no remedy.
Should any player receive more or less than his correct number of
cards, and discover the error before he looks at any card in his hand,
or lifts it from the table, he may demand a fresh deal if no bet has
been made; or he may ask the dealer to give him another from the pack
if he has too few; or to draw a card if he has too many. Cards so drawn
must not be exposed, but should be placed on the bottom of the pack.
If the number of the hands dealt does not agree with the number of
players, there must be a new deal.
If two or more cards are dealt at a time, the dealer may take back the
card or cards improperly dealt if he discovers the error before dealing
to the next player; otherwise there must be a new deal.
A misdeal does not lose the deal. The misdealer must deal again.
Should a player take up his hand, or look at any card in it, he is
not entitled to any remedy. If he has more or less than the proper
number of cards, his hand is foul, and must be abandoned, the player
forfeiting any interest he may have in that deal, and any stake he may
have put up on that hand. In all gambling houses, the invariable rule
is to call a short hand foul; although there should be no objection to
playing against a man with only four cards, which cannot be increased
to five, even by the draw.
_=STRADDLING.=_ During the deal, or at any time before he looks at any
card in his hand, the player to the left of the age may _=straddle
the blind=_ by putting up double the amount put up by the age. The
only privilege this secures to the straddler is that of having the
last _=say=_ as to whether or nor he will make good his ante and draw
cards. Should he refuse to straddle, no other player can do so; but
if he straddles, the player on his left can straddle him again by
doubling the amount he puts up, which will be four times the amount
of the blind. This will open the privilege to the next player on the
left again, and so on until the limit of straddling is reached; but
if one player refuses to straddle, no other following him can do so.
Good players seldom or never straddle, as the only effect of it is to
increase the amount of the ante.
_=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ The cards dealt, the players take up and examine
their hands. The careful poker player always “spreads” his cards before
taking them up, to be sure that he has neither more nor less than five,
and he lifts them in such a way that the palm and fingers of his right
hand conceal the face of the first card, while the thumb of the left
hand separates the others just sufficiently to allow him to read the
index or “squeezer” marks on the edges.
[Illustration: Spreading. Squeezing.]
The object of this examination is to ascertain the value of the hand
dealt to him, and to see whether or not it is worth while trying to
improve it by discarding certain cards and drawing others in their
place. The player should not only be thoroughly familiar with the
relative value of the various combinations which may be held at Poker,
but should have some idea of the chances for and against better
combinations being held by other players, and should also know the odds
against improving any given combination by drawing to it.
The value of this technical knowledge will be obvious when it is
remembered that a player may have a hand dealt to him which he knows
is comparatively worthless as it is, and the chances for improving
which are only one in twelve, but which he must bet on at odds of one
in three, or abandon it. Such a proceeding would evidently be a losing
game, for if the experiment were tried twelve times the player would
win once only, and would lose eleven times. This would be paying eleven
dollars to win three; yet poker players are continually doing this.
_=RANK OF THE HANDS.=_ The various combinations at Poker outrank one
another in the following order, beginning with the lowest. Cards with
a star over them add nothing to the value of the hand, and may be
discarded. The figures on the right are the odds against such a hand
being dealt to any individual player.
Five cards of various
suits; not in sequence,
and without a pair. [Illustration: 🂡* 🃘* 🂶* 🂴* 🂢*] Even
_=One Pair.=_ Two cards
of one kind and three useless
cards. [Illustration: 🂨 🃘 🃞* 🂭* 🂴*] 34 to 25
_=Two Pairs.=_ Two of
one kind; two of another
kind; and one useless card. [Illustration: 🂫 🃋 🂣 🃓 🂹*] 20 to 1
_=Threes.=_ Three of one
kind, and two useless cards. [Illustration: 🃉 🂹 🃙 🂭* 🂢*] 46 to 1
_=Straight.=_ All five
cards in sequence, but
of various suits. [Illustration: 🃉 🂸 🃗 🃆 🂥] 254 to 1
_=Flush.=_ All five
cards of one suit, but
not in sequence. [Illustration: 🂡 🂮 🂨 🂥 🂣] 508 to 1
_=Full Hand.=_ Three
of one kind, and two
of another kind; no
useless cards. [Illustration: 🃅 🂥 🃕 🂽 🂭] 693 to 1
_=Fours.=_ Four cards
of one kind, and one
useless card. [Illustration: 🃆 🂦 🃖 🂶 🂾*] 4164 to 1
_=Straight flush.=_
Five cards of the same
suit, in sequence with
one another. [Illustration: 🃈 🃇 🃆 🃅 🃄] 72192 to 1
_=Royal Flush.=_ A
straight flush which is
ace high. [Illustration: 🃑 🃞 🃝 🃛 🃚] 649739 to 1
When hands are of the same rank, their relative value is determined
by the denomination of the cards they contain. For instance: A hand
without a pair, sequence, or flush is called by its highest card; “ace
high,” or “Jack high,” as the case may be. As between two such hands,
the one containing the highest card would be the better, but either
would be outclassed by a hand with a pair in it, however small. A hand
with a pair of nines in it would outrank one with a pair of sevens,
even though the cards accompanying the nines were only a deuce, three
and four, while those with the sevens were an ace, King and Queen. But
should the pairs be alike in both hands; such as tens, the highest
card outside the pair would decide the rank of the hands, and if those
were also alike, the next card, or perhaps the fifth would have to
be considered. Should the three odd cards in each hand be identical,
the hands would be a tie, and would divide any pool to which each had
a claim. Two flushes would decide their rank in the same manner. If
both were ace and Jack high, the third card in one being a nine, and
in the other an eight, the nine would win. In full hands the rank of
the triplets decides the value of the hand. Three Queens and a pair of
deuces will beat three Jacks and a pair of aces. In straights, the
highest card of the sequence wins; not necessarily the highest card in
the hand, for a player may have a sequence of A 2 3 4 5, which is only
five high, and would be beaten by a sequence of 2 3 4 5 6. The ace must
either begin or end a sequence, for a player is not allowed to call
such a combination as Q K A 2 3 a straight.
It was evidently the intention of those who invented Poker that the
hands most difficult to obtain should be the best, and should outrank
hands that occurred more frequently. A glance at the table of odds will
show that this principle has been carried out as far as the various
denominations of hands go; but when we come to the members of the
groups the principle is violated. In hands not containing a pair, for
instance, ace high will beat Jack high, but it is much more common to
hold ace high than Jack high. The exact proportion is 503 to 127. A
hand of five cards only seven high but not containing a pair, is rarer
than a flush; the proportion being 408 to 510. When we come to two
pairs, we find the same inversion of probability and value. A player
will hold “aces up,” that is, a pair of aces and another pair inferior
to aces, twelve times as often as he will hold “threes up.” In the
opinion of the author, in all hands that do not contain a pair, “seven
high” should be the best instead of the lowest, and ace high should be
the lowest. In hands containing two pairs, “threes up” should be the
highest, and “aces up” the lowest.
_=ECCENTRIC HANDS.=_ In addition to the regular poker hands, which are
those already given, there are a few combinations which are played in
some parts of the country, especially in the South, either as matter of
local custom or by agreement. When any of these are played, it would be
well for the person who is not accustomed to them to have a distinct
understanding in advance, just what combinations shall be allowed and
what hands they will beat. There are four of these eccentric hands, and
the figures on the right are the odds against their being dealt to any
individual player:
_=Blaze.=_ Five picture
cards. Beat two pairs;
but lose to three of a
kind. [Illustration: 🂻 🃝 🃍 🃎 🂮] 3008 to 1
_=Tiger.=_ Must be seven
high and deuce low; without
a pair, sequence or
flush. It beats a straight;
but loses to a flush. [Illustration: 🃇 🂦 🂥 🂳 🃒] 636 to 1
_=Skip, or Dutch
Straight.=_ Any sequence
of alternate cards,
of various suits. Beats
two pairs and a blaze. [Illustration: 🂭 🂺 🃘 🃆 🃔] 423 to 1
_=Round-the-Corner.=_
Any straight in which the
ace connects the top and
bottom. Beats threes;
but any regular straight
will beat it. [Illustration: 🂾 🂱 🃂 🃃 🃔] 848 to 1
The rank of these extra hands has evidently been assigned by
guess-work. The absurdity of their appraised value will be evident if
we look at the first of them, the blaze, which is usually played to
beat two pairs. As it is impossible to have a blaze which does not
contain two pairs of court cards, all that they beat is aces up or
kings up. If it were ranked, like other poker hands, by the difficulty
of getting it, a blaze should beat a full hand.
All these hands are improperly placed in the scale of poker values, as
will be seen by comparing the odds against them. In any games to which
these eccentric hands are admitted, the rank of all the combinations
would be as follows, if poker principles were followed throughout:--
DENOMINATION. ODDS AGAINST.
One pair 1¼ to 1
Two pairs 20 to 1
Three of a kind 46 to 1
Sequence or straight 254 to 1
Skip or Dutch straight 423 to 1
Flush 508 to 1
Tiger [Big or Little Dog] 636 to 1
Full hand 693 to 1
Round-the-corner straight 848 to 1
Blaze 3008 to 1
Four of a kind 4164 to 1
Straight flush 72192 to 1
Royal Flush [Ace high] 649739 to 1
When the true rank of these eccentric hands is not allowed, local
custom must decide what they will beat.
_=JOKER POKER=_, or _=MISTIGRIS=_. It is not uncommon to leave the
joker, or blank card, in the pack. The player to whom this card is
dealt may call it anything he pleases. If he has a pair of aces, and
the joker, he may call them three aces. If he has four clubs, and the
joker, he may call it a flush; or he may make the joker fill out a
straight. If he has four of a kind, and the joker, he can beat a royal
flush by calling his hand five of a kind. In case of ties, the hand
with the mistigris wins; that is to say, an ace and the joker will beat
two aces.
A player holding the joker may even call it a duplicate of a card
already in his hand. For instance; he might hold the A J 8 5 of hearts
and the joker against the A K Q 7 3 of clubs. If he calls the joker the
king of hearts, the club flush still beats him as it is queen next. He
must call it the ace, which makes his flush ace-ace high.
_=PROBABILITIES.=_ In estimating the value of his hand as compared to
that of any other player, before the draw, the theory of probabilities
is of little or no use, and the calculations will vary with the number
of players engaged. For instance: If five are playing, some one should
have two pairs every fourth deal, because in four deals twenty hands
will be given out. If seven are playing, it is probable that five of
them will hold a pair of some kind before the draw. Unfortunately,
these calculations are not of the slightest practical use to a poker
player, because although three of a kind may not be dealt to a player
more than once in forty-five times on the average, it is quite a common
occurrence for two players to have threes dealt to each of them at the
same time. The considerations which must guide the player in judging
the comparative value of his hand, both before and after the draw, must
be left until we come to the suggestions for good play.