justify it, and discover his error before he draws, the best usage
demands that his hand is foul, and that he forfeits to the pool
whatever amount he may have opened for, and any raises that he may
have stood. There are then three ways to play: _=First.=_ Those who
have come in under the impression that the pot had been legitimately
opened but who have not openers themselves, can withdraw their money,
and allow any one to open it who has openers. This is very unfair to
those on the left of the false opener who have abandoned their hands.
_=Second.=_ Those who have come into the pot after the false opening
are allowed to stay in, and play for it, no matter what their hands
are. _=Third.=_ On discovery of the false opening, each player is
allowed to take down whatever amount he may have paid into the pool,
including his original ante and all fatteners, and the false opener
must then make the entire amount good. The cards are then dealt afresh.
This is a very harsh punishment for a very trifling and common error.
The second method is the most popular, and probably the fairest, and is
now the universal rule.
If the false opener does not discover his mistake until he has drawn
cards, his action is at least suspicious, and he should be compelled
to put up the total amount in the pool, as in case three. In some
localities such a player is barred from playing the next two jacks, but
compelled to ante his share in each.
_=Betting Jacks.=_ When a jack pot has been properly opened, and all
have declared whether or not they will stay, and have drawn cards, the
players proceed to bet on their hands. As there is no age in jack pots,
the rule is for the opener to make the first bet; or, if he has been
raised out before the draw, the player next on his left who still holds
cards. The opener may decline to bet if he pleases; but if he does
so, he must show his openers, and then abandon his hand. If no bet is
made, the last player holding cards takes the pool without showing his
hand. If a bet is made, each player in turn on the left must abdicate,
better, or call, just as in the ordinary pool. At the conclusion of the
betting, if there is a call, the best poker hand wins, of course. If
there is no call, the player making the last bet or raise takes the
pool without showing his hand, unless he is the opener, when the whole
hand need not be shown, as it is no one’s business what the opener got
in the draw, no one having paid to see it. All he need show is openers.
But should the opener be one of those in the final call, he must show
his whole hand. Should it then be discovered that he has not openers,
the false opener is compelled to ante for all the players at the table
for another Jack. This is usually called giving them a “free ride.”
_=The Kitty=_ is now an almost universal adjunct to the pool. In clubs,
it pays for the cards, and for an occasional round of refreshments; in
small poker parties it defrays the expense of the weekly supper. When
the amount is excessive, or accumulates too rapidly, it is often used
to give the players a “free ride” by paying all their antes in a “kitty
jack pot.”
The kitty is usually kept by the banker, who takes a white counter
out of every pool in which triplets or better are shown to the board,
and a red counter out of every jack pot. These counters must be kept
apart from the other chips, and must be accounted for at the end of the
game by paying the kitty so much in cash, just as if it was one of the
players.
Gambling houses and poker rooms are supposed to derive their entire
revenue from this source, and those of the lowest class invent endless
excuses for taking out for the kitty. In many houses there is a sliding
scale for various hands; one counter being taken for two pairs; two
counters for triplets; three for straights or flushes; and a red for
fours, jack pots, and misdeals. It is not uncommon for the proprietors
of such games to find thirty or forty dollars in the kitty after a
night’s play with five-cent chips.
_=TABLE STAKES.=_ This is one of several variations in arranging the
stakes and the betting limit. In some localities it is the custom to
allow each player to purchase as many counters as he pleases; in others
it is the rule to compel each to buy an equal number at the start,
usually two hundred times the amount of the blind. In table stakes the
betting limit is always the amount that the player has in front of him;
but no player is allowed either to increase or diminish that amount
while he has any cards in front of him. Before the cards are dealt for
any pool he may announce that he wishes to buy counters, or that he has
some to sell to any other player wishing to purchase; but for either
transaction the consent of all the other players must be obtained. No
player is allowed under any circumstances to borrow from another, nor
to be “shy” in any pot; that is, to say, “I owe so many.” If he has any
counters in front of him, his betting is limited to what he has; if he
has none, he is out of the game, for that hand at least. As a player
cannot increase the amount he has in front of him during the play of a
hand, it is best to keep on the table at all times as much as one is
likely to want to bet on any one hand.
It is the usual custom, and an excellent one, to fix upon a definite
hour for closing a game of table stakes, and to allow no player to
retire from the game before that hour unless he is _=decavé=_, (has
lost all his capital). Should he insist on retiring, whatever counters
he has must be divided among the other players, and if there are any
odd ones after the division, they must be put into the current pool.
In table stakes, any player may _=call a sight=_ for what money or
counters he has in front of him, even should another player have bet a
much larger amount. For instance: A has bet three dollars, and B has
only two dollars in front of him, but wishes to call A. B calls for a
sight by putting his two dollars in the pool, and A must then withdraw
his third dollar from the pool, but leave it on the table to be called
or raised by any other player. Should C wish to call A, or even to
raise him, A and C may continue the betting independently of B’s part
of the pool. Should C have even less money than B, say one dollar, he
may still further reduce the original pool, leaving the two dollars
aside for settlement between A and B, and A’s third dollar still aside
from that again for the decision of any other player.
Let us suppose that A and C continue the betting until one calls.
When the hands are shown, if either A’s or C’s is better than B’s, B
loses his interest; but if B’s hand is better than either A’s hand or
C’s hand, he takes the part of the pool for which he called a sight,
while A and C decide the remainder between them. For instance: A calls
C, and C shows three tens. Neither A nor B can beat it, and C takes
everything. But if B had three Jacks, and A only three fives, B would
take the part of the pool for which he called a sight, and C would take
the remainder.
Should C have raised and bluffed A out, or have bet so much that A
finally refused to call, A would have no interest in either pool, and C
would take all the money outside the pool for which B called a sight.
Should it then transpire, on the show of hands between B and C, that A
had laid down a better hand than either of them, that would not entitle
A to claim the sight pool from B, because in laying down his hand he
has practically acknowledged that C’s hand is better, and has retired
from the game. If B’s hand is better than C’s, B takes the sight pool.
_=FREEZE OUT.=_ This might be called a variety of table stakes. At the
start, each player is supplied with an equal number of counters; but
no one is allowed to replenish his stock, or to withdraw or loan any
part of it. As soon as any player has lost his capital he is decavé,
or _=frozen out=_, and must permanently retire from the game. The
other players continue until only one remains, who must of course win
everything on the table. This is not a popular form of Poker, because
it is sometimes a long time before a player who is frozen out can get
into a game again.
_=SHOW-DOWN POKER.=_ This is a variety of draw poker, in which each
player takes the five cards dealt to him and turns them face up so that
all the other players can see them. Each player discards and draws in
turn, eldest hand first. As soon as a hand is beaten it is thrown into
the deadwood, all the cards drawn being dealt face up.
_=FLAT POKER.=_ In this variety of the game, before the cards are
dealt, the age puts up, for a blind, any amount he pleases within
the limit. Those who are willing to bet a similar amount on the
possibilities of their hands put up a similar amount. Those who decline
are not given any cards. There are no straddles, raises, or antes.
Immediately after the deal each player who is in the pool draws cards,
the age first. There are then two ways to play: The hands are shown
and the best wins; or, beginning with the age, each player may say if
he will back his hand against the field; _i.e._, all the others in the
pool. If he will, he must put up as much as their combined stakes. He
cannot be raised; but if any one player or combination of players call
him, and one of them can beat his hand, the field divide the pool. For
instance: Age makes it a blue, and three others stay with him. After
the draw C puts up three blues against the field. D and A call it,
and all show hands. If any of the three, A, B or D can beat C they
divide the pool, B getting his third, although he did not contribute
to the call. This game is a pure gamble; except that a bold player may
occasionally bluff the field off.
_=METHODS OF CHEATING.=_ Poker and its congeners have received more
attention from the greeks than any other family of card games. In fact
it is generally believed that the term greek, as applied to a card
sharper, had its origin in the Adam of the poker family, which was a
gambling game introduced by the Greeks in Italy.
So numerous and so varied are the methods of cheating at Poker that it
is an axiom among gamblers that if a pigeon will not stand one thing
he will another. The best informed make it a rule never to play Poker
with strangers, because they realize that it is impossible for any but
a professional gambler to know half the tricks employed by the poker
sharp. It is a notorious fact that even the shrewdest gamblers are
continually being taken in by others more expert than themselves. What
chance then has the honest card player?
There are black sheep in all flocks, and it may be well to give a few
hints to those who are in the habit of playing in mixed companies.
Never play with a man who looks attentively at the faces of the cards
as he gathers them for his deal; or who stands the pack on edge, with
the faces of the cards towards him, and evens up the bunch by picking
out certain cards, apparently because they are sticking up. Any pack
can be straightened by pushing the cards down with the hand. The man
who lifts them up is more than probably a cheat.
Never play with a man who looks intently at the pack and shuffles the
cards slowly. If he is not locating the cards for the ensuing deal he
is wasting time, and should be hurried a little.
Never play with a person who leaves the cut portion of the pack on the
table, and deals off the other part. In small parties this is a very
common way of working what is known as _=the top stock=_. If such a
dealer is carefully watched it will usually be found that he seizes
the first opportunity to place the part cut off on the top of the part
dealt from. The top stock is then ready for the draw, and the judicious
player should at once cash his chips and retire from the game.
Never play with a man who continually holds his cards very close to
his body, or who completely conceals his hand before the draw, or who
takes great care to put his discard among previous discards, so that
the exact number of cards put out cannot be counted. He is probably
working a vest or sleeve hold-out. Some clumsy or audacious sharpers
will go so far as to hold out cards in their lap, or stick them in a
“bug” under the table. One of the most successful poker sharps ever
known, “Eat-um-up Jake” Blackburn, who had a hand like a ham, could
hold out five cards in his palm while he carried on all the operations
of shuffling, dealing, and playing his hand. Such men require great
dexterity and nerve to get rid of their “deadwood,” or surplus cards,
without detection. _=Holding out=_ is regarded by the professional as a
most dangerous experiment, but it is very common.
Never play with a man who keeps his eyes rivetted on the cards as he
deals, and who deals comparatively slowly. He is probably using marked
cards, or has marked the important ones himself during the play. Poker
sharps who mark cards by scratching them with a sharp point concealed
in a ring are obliged to hold the cards at a certain angle to the
light in order to see the scratches. Those who dig points in the cards
with the thumb nail depend on touch instead of sight. If you find such
points on the cards, either dig other points on other cards, or retire
from the game.
Against the hold-out or marked cards there is no protection, because
the dealer does not care how much the cards in the pack are shuffled or
cut; but every method of running up hands, or stocking cards, can be
made ineffective if the pone will not only cut the cards, but carefully
reunite the packets. If the two parts are straightened after the cut,
it will be impossible for the dealer to shift the cut, and bring the
cards back to their original position. The dealer will sometimes bend
the top or bottom card so as to form a _=bridge=_, which will enable
him to find the place where the cards were cut. This can only be
overcome by shuffling the cards instead of cutting them, which every
player has the right to do. If you insist on shuffling, the greek will
do the same in his turn, and will run up hands to be dealt to himself.
It is perfectly useless to endeavour to protect yourself against a
poker sharp; the only remedy is to leave the game.
Many persons have a strong prejudice against playing with a man who
shuffles his chips. The mere fact of his being an expert at chip
shuffling has nothing to do with the game of poker, the accomplishment
usually being the result of long experience at the faro table. The
reason for the prejudice is that a chip shuffler is usually cold
blooded, courageous, and seldom a loser at any game that requires nerve.
_=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.=_ Volumes might be written for the
guidance of the poker player without improving his game a particle,
unless he possesses at least one of four qualifications: Control over
his features and actions; judgment of human nature; courage; and
patience. The man whose face or manner betrays the nature of his hand,
or the effect of an opponent’s bet or raise, will find everyone to beat
his weak hands, and no one to call his strong ones. Unless he is a fair
judge of human nature he will never be able to estimate the strength or
peculiarities of the players to whom he is opposed, and will fail to
distinguish a bluff from an ambuscade. Without courage he cannot reap
the full benefit of his good hands; and without patience he cannot save
his money in the time of adversity.
Of one thing every player may rest assured, and that is that Poker
cannot be played by mathematical formulas. Beyond the most elementary
calculations of the chances in favour of certain events the theory of
probabilities is of no assistance. It is not necessary to call in a
mathematician to prove that a player who habitually discards a pair of
aces to draw to three cards of a suit will lose by the operation in the
long run. Nor will any amount of calculation convince some players that
they are wasting their money to stay in a jack pot in order to draw to
a pair of tens, although such is the fact.
The various positions occupied by the player at the poker table may
be briefly examined, and some general suggestions offered for his
guidance in each of them. In the first place he should look out for his
counters. It is always best for each player to place the amount of his
ante or his bet immediately in front of him, so that there need be no
dispute as to who is up, or who is shy. Above all it should be insisted
that any player who has once put counters in the pool, and taken his
hand from them, should not again take them down.
_=The Age=_ is the most valuable position at the table, but it is
seldom fully taken advantage of. The age should never look at his
hand until it is his turn to make good his blind. He may pick up his
cards, but he should use his eyes in following the manner and facial
expression of the other players as they sort their cards. One of the
greatest errors made by the age is in thinking that he must save his
blind. The player who draws to nothing because he can do so cheaply,
will usually have nothing to draw at the end of the game. The age can
usually afford to draw to four-card flushes, and to straights open at
both ends, but should not do so when there are less than three who have
paid to draw cards, or when the ante has been raised.
If the age holds Kings or better before the draw, he should invariably
raise the ante unless there are five players in the pool besides
himself, or unless some other player has already raised. If he holds
two pairs, he should do all his betting before the draw. If any other
player has raised, or his own raise is re-raised, the age must use his
judgment of the player and the circumstances. It is useless for the age
to disguise his hand by such manœuvres as holding up an odd card to a
pair, unless he raises the blind at the same time. If he draws one or
two cards only, and has not raised the blind, every one will credit him
for a small pair and an ace, or for a bobtail, and will inevitably call
any bluff he may make. The age is the poorest position at the table for
a bluff, but it is decidedly the best in which to win large pots with
moderate hands.
_=The Dealer=_ has the next best position to the age, and in large
parties there is very little difference in the way in which the two
positions should be played.
The _=first bettor=_ has the worst position at the table and he should
seldom come in on less than Queens. He should seldom raise the ante,
even with two pairs, as he will only drive others out. In this position
very little can be made out of good hands, because every one expects
to find them there; but it offers many excellent opportunities for
successful bluffing. A player in this position should never straddle.
Many players endeavour to force their luck in this way, but it is a
losing game, and the best players seldom or never straddle. Having
to make the first bet after the draw, it is usual for the player in
this position, if he has an average hand, to _=chip along=_, by simply
betting a single counter, and waiting for developments. With a strong
hand, it is best to bet its full value at once, on the chance that the
bet may be taken for a bluff, and called.
_=Other Positions.=_ As the positions go round the table from the first
bettor to the age, they become more desirable, and little need be said
of them beyond the consideration of the average strength necessary for
a player to _=go in=_ on.
_=GOING IN.=_ There is a great difference of opinion as to the minimum
value of a hand which should justify a player in drawing cards if he
can do so for the usual ante. In close games many players make it a
rule not to go in on less than tens, while in more liberal circles the
players will draw to any pair. In determining which course to follow,
the individual must be guided by his observation and judgment. Suppose
five play, and A observes that B and C constantly draw to small pairs,
while D and E never come in on less than tens. If A has the age, B,
D, and E having anted, A may be sure that there are at least two good
hands against him, and will guide himself accordingly. But if B and
C are the only players in, A may safely draw to a small pair. It can
be mathematically demonstrated that what is called an _=average go-in
hand=_ should be at least a pair of tens; but a player who waits for
tens in a liberal game, in which others are drawing to ace high, will
ante himself away if there are many jack pots, and will get no calls
when he gets a hand.
_=BETTING.=_ Good players are guided by the general character of the
game in which they take part. Some parties play a very liberal game,
and the players bet high on medium hands, and give every one a good
fight. It is best to have liberal or lucky players on your right;
because if they sit behind you, they will continually raise you, and
you will be forced either to overbid your hand on the same liberal
scale that they adopt, or lose what you have already put up. If a
liberal player sits on your right you will often be able to make large
winnings on moderate hands. In a close game, when the players bet in a
niggardly manner, the liberal player is at a great disadvantage; for
he can win little or nothing on his good hands, but will lose large
amounts when he runs up the betting on a good hand which is opposed
to one that is better. When a liberal player finds a close player
following him freely, he may be sure there is a very strong hand
against him.
_=VARIETY.=_ Above all things a player should avoid regularity in his
play, because observant adversaries will soon learn his methods. The
best players usually play two pairs pat, without drawing, about half
the time. This gives them the reputation of betting on pat hands which
are not genuine, and when they get one that is real, they will often
succeed in getting a good bet, or even a raise, from those holding
triplets or two large pairs, who have noticed them play two pairs pat.
In the same way it is advisable to hold up an odd card occasionally,
without raising the ante; so that when you do hold triplets, and draw
two cards, you will not frighten every one at the table. The chances
of improving a pair by drawing three cards, are one in three; and by
drawing two cards only, one in four. The difference is worth the moral
effect of the variation in the play.
_=PROBABILITIES.=_ The endless poker statistics that have been
published are of little or no value to the practical player, and there
are only a few figures that are worth remembering. It is a general
law in all games of chance that you should never do a thing which you
would not be willing to repeat under the same circumstances a hundred
times. The best example of the application of this law is in drawing
to bobtails. If you have a four-card flush to draw to, the odds
against getting it are about four to one; and unless you can obtain
the privilege of drawing to it by paying not more than one-fifth of
the amount in the pool, you will lose by it in the long run. The best
players never draw to four-card flushes except when they have the age,
and the ante has not been raised.
There are some players who pretend to be so guided by probabilities
that they never go into a pool unless the chances in favour of their
having a good hand after the draw are at least equal to the odds they
have to bet by going into the pool. This is all nonsense; for no player
knows when he goes into a pool how much it will cost him to get out,
and the value of his individual hand is an unknown quantity at the
best, because it cannot be compared to the others. One thing only is
certain, and that is that in the long run the player who goes in with
the strongest hand will still have the strongest hand after the draw.
This is an important thing to remember in jack pots, in which the
value of at least one hand is known. If you draw to a pair smaller
than Jacks, you do so with the full knowledge that the pair itself is
not strong enough to win. Now what are the odds against your winning
the pool? Suppose you hold tens, and draw three cards. Your chance of
improving your hand is a little better than one in five. The opener of
the jack pot has exactly the same chance, and if both of you draw cards
a hundred times under those circumstances, he will beat you in the long
run, to say nothing of the other players who may come in and beat both
of you. It is therefore evident that in backing tens against openers,
it is four to one against your beating the openers to begin with, and
if you do beat them the odds are still against your winning the pot. If
there were five players, and the jack pots were all equal in amount,
you would have to win one pot out of five to make your investment pay.
Can you make this average when your original pair will not beat openers?
There are three principles with regard to the draw that should never be
lost sight of:
(1) An average go-in hand is a hand which will win its proportion of
the pools, according to the number playing, taking all improvements and
opposition into account. This can be demonstrated to be a pair of tens.