and weak hands will improve in much greater proportion than strong ones
will. For instance: The chances for a player to improve by drawing to
a pair of Queens are one in three and a half. He may make two pairs, or
triplets, or a full hand, or four of a kind. The chances of improvement
for a player drawing to two pairs, say Eights up, are only one in
thirteen. This consideration leads players to adopt two lines of play:
To bet all they intend to on two pairs before the draw, in order to
prevent weaker hands drawing cards and improving; or, to discard the
smaller pair in order to increase their chances of improvement.
(3) The smaller the number of players, the greater the value of the
hands; and the larger the number of players, the greater the chance
that any given hand will be beaten. When only two play, you can safely
bet the limit on a pair of Eights; but in a party of eight players they
are hardly worth drawing to. For this reason average hands should force
the weaker out, and reduce the number of players _=before the draw=_.
For the benefit of those interested in such matters _=the probable
improvement by the draw=_ may be briefly given.
It is 2½ to 1 against improving _=a pair=_ by drawing three cards; the
chances against making triplets or two pairs being 8 to 1; against a
full hand, 61 to 1; and against four of a kind, 364 to 1. It is 4 to
1 against improving a pair by drawing two cards; the chances against
triplets being 12 to 1, and 8 to 1 against two pairs.
It is 12 to 1 against making a full hand by drawing to _=two pairs=_.
It is 8 to 1 against improving _=triplets=_ by drawing two cards; 14½
to 1 against a full hand, and 23 to 1 against four of a kind. It is 12
to 1 against improving if one card is drawn; 16 to 1 against the full,
and 46 to 1 against four of a kind.
It is 11 to 1 against making a straight out of a sequence of four cards
which is open in the middle, or at one end only. It is 5 to 1 against
making a straight out of a sequence of four which is open at both ends.
[Illustration:
🂻 🃚 🂨 🂧 | 🂹 🃘 🂧 🃆
IN-BETWEEN STRAIGHT. OPEN-END STRAIGHT.
]
It is 4½ to 1 against filling a four-card flush. It is 23 to 1 against
filling a three-card flush. It is 95 to 1 against filling a two-card
flush.
It is 3 to 1 against improving a four-card straight flush which is open
at both ends. The chances against getting the straight or the flush
have been given; the odds against getting the straight flush are 24 to
1. The chance for getting a pair exists; but the pair would probably be
worthless.
It is 4 to 1 against improving a four-card straight flush open in the
middle, or at one end only; the odds against getting the straight flush
being 46 to 1.
There are several minor or speculative draws which may be of interest.
Drawing to an ace and a King, it is 3 to 1 against making a pair of
either. It is 4 to 1 against making a pair of aces by drawing four
cards to an ace; and 12 to 1 against making aces up, or better. It is
24 to 1 against making a straight by drawing to three cards of it, open
at both ends. It is 12 to 1 against making either a straight or a flush
by drawing to three cards of a straight flush, open at both ends.
_=HOW TO WIN AT POKER.=_ There have been many alleged infallible
receipts for winning at Poker. Proctor thought that refusing to go
in on less than triplets would prove a certainty; but in the same
paragraph he acknowledges that the adversaries would soon learn the
peculiarity, and avoid betting against the player. Triplets before the
draw occur about once in every 45 hands. If five were playing, a person
following Proctor’s advice would have to blind 9 times, and ante in
at least 12 jack pots in every 45 hands, to say nothing of fattening.
This means an outlay of at least 75 counters. When the triplets come,
will he get back 75 counters on them? He will probably win the blind,
and one or two antes; but the moment he makes his own ante good, every
player who cannot beat triplets, knowing his system, will lay down his
hand.
An extensive observation of the methods of the best players has led the
author to the conclusion that the great secret of success in Poker,
apart from natural aptitude for the game, and being a good actor, is to
_=avoid calling=_. If you think you have the best hand, raise. If you
think you have not the best, lay it down. Although you may sometimes
lay down a better hand than the one that takes the pool, the system
will prove of immense advantage to you in two ways: In the first place,
you will find it a great educator of the judgment; and in the second
place, it will take almost any opponent’s nerve. Once an adversary has
learned your method, it is not a question of his betting a red chip on
his hand; but of his willingness to stand a raise of two blues, which
he will regard as inevitable if you come in against him at all. The
fear of this raise will prompt many a player to lay down a moderately
good hand without a bet; so that you have all the advantage of having
made a strong bluff without having put up a chip. The system will
also drive all but the most courageous to calling your hand on every
occasion, being afraid of a further and inevitable raise; and it is an
old saying that a good caller is a sure loser.
The theory of calling is to get an opportunity to compare your hand
with your adversary’s. Now, if you think that after the comparison
yours will prove the better hand, why not increase the value of the
pool? If, on the contrary, you fear that his hand will beat yours, why
throw good money after bad? If you don’t think at all about it, and
have no means of forming an opinion as to the respective merits of your
hands, you are not a poker player, and have no business in the game.
_=BLUFFING.=_ There is nothing connected with Poker on which persons
have such confused ideas as on the subject of bluffing. The popular
impression seems to be that a stiff upper lip, and a cheerful
expression of countenance, accompanied by a bet of five dollars,
will make most people lay down three aces; and that this result will
be brought about by the five-dollar bet, without any regard to the
player’s position at the table, the number of cards he drew, his manner
of seeing or raising the ante, or the play of his adversaries before
the draw. The truth of the matter is that for a bluff to be either
sound in principle or successful in practice, the player must carefully
select his opportunity. The bluff must be planned from the start,
and consistently played from the ante to the end. To use a common
expression: “The play must be right for it, or the bluff will be wrong.”
There are many cases in which a bluff of fifty cents would be much
stronger than one of five dollars; the difference depending on the
player’s position at the table, his treatment of the ante, and the
number of cards he had drawn. As an example of the play being right
for a bluff, take the following case: Five play in a jack pot. A and B
have passed when C opens it for the limit. D and E pass out, but A and
B both stay, and each draws one card. C takes two cards, and as it is
his first bet he puts up the limit on his three aces. A drops out, but
B raises C the limit in return. Now, if C is a good player he will lay
down his three aces, even if he faintly suspects B is bluffing, because
B’s play is sound in any case. He either could not, or pretended he
could not open the jack; but he could afford to pay the limit to draw
one card against openers, and he could afford to raise the limit
against an opener’s evidently honest two-card draw. As a matter of fact
the whole play was a bluff; for B not only had nothing, but had nothing
to draw to originally.
Another variety of the bluff, which is the author’s own invention, will
often prove successful with strangers, but it can seldom be repeated
in the same company. Suppose six play in a jack pot. A passes, and
B opens it by quietly putting up his counters. C and D pass, and E,
pretending not to know that B has opened it, announces that he will
open it for the limit, although he has not a pair in his hand. He is
of course immediately informed that it has been opened, upon which
he unhesitatingly raises it for the limit. Whatever the others do, E
stands pat, and looks cheerful. The author has never known this bluff
to be called.
Holding a strong hand, a player may often coax another to raise him, by
offering to divide the pool.
The successful bluffer should never show his hand. Even if he starts
the game by bluffing for advertising purposes, hoping to get called on
good hands later, he should not show anything or tell anything that the
others do not pay to see or know. Bluffing is usually more successful
when a player is in a lucky vein than when he has been unfortunate.
POKER LAWS.
_=1. Formation of Table.=_ A poker table is complete with seven
players. If eight play the dealer must take no cards, or a sixty-card
pack must be used. If there are more than seven candidates for play,
two tables must be formed unless the majority decide against it.
_=2. Cutting.=_ The players who shall form the table, and their
positions at the beginning of the game may be decided by drawing from
an outspread pack, or by throwing round a card to each candidate, face
up. If there are eight or more candidates, the tables shall divide
evenly if the number is even, those cutting the highest cards playing
together. If the number is odd, the smaller table shall be formed by
those cutting the highest cards. In cutting, the ace is low. Any player
exposing more than one card must cut again.
_=3.=_ The table formed, the players draw from the outspread pack for
positions. The lowest cut has the first choice, and deals the first
hand. The player cutting the next lowest has the next choice, and so on
until all are seated.
_=4. Ties.=_ If players cut cards of equal value they must cut again;
but the new cut decides nothing but the tie.
_=5. Stakes.=_ Any player may be the banker, and keep the kitty, if
any. In Draw, Straight, or Stud Poker, each player may purchase as many
counters as he pleases. In Freeze-out, Table Stakes, Whiskey Poker, and
Progressive Poker, each player must begin with an equal amount.
_=6. Betting Limits.=_ Before play begins limits must be agreed upon
for the amount of the blind, the straddle, the ante in jack pots, and
for betting or raising.
_=7. Shuffling.=_ Before the first deal the pack must be counted to see
that it contains the proper number of cards. Should the first dealer
neglect this he forfeits five counters to the pool. Before each deal
the cards must be shuffled. Any player may shuffle, the dealer last.
_=8. Cutting to the Dealer.=_ The dealer must present the pack to the
pone, [the player on his right,] to be cut. The pone may either cut, 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 doing so, nor do it for him. If he cuts, he must leave at least
four cards in each packet, and the dealer or the pone must reunite the
packets by placing the one not removed in cutting upon the other.
_=9.=_ If in cutting, or in reuniting the packets, a card is exposed,
the pack must be reshuffled and cut.
_=10.=_ If the dealer reshuffles the pack after it has been properly
cut, he forfeits five counters to the current pool.
_=11. Dealing Before the Draw.=_ After the age, [the player on the
dealer’s left,] has put up the amount of the blind, the dealer
distributes the cards face down, one at a time, in rotation, until each
player has received five cards.
_=12.=_ The deal passes to the left, except in jack pots, when it may
be agreed that the same dealer shall deal until the pot is opened.
_=13. Misdealing.=_ A misdeal does not lose the deal; the same dealer
must deal again. It is a misdeal: If the dealer fails to present the
pack to the pone; or if any card is found faced in the pack; or if the
pack is found imperfect; or if the dealer gives six or more cards to
more than one player; or if he deals more or fewer hands than there
are players; or if he omits a player in dealing; or if he deals a card
incorrectly, and fails to correct the error before dealing another.
_=14. Irregularities in the Hands.=_ 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 new deal. If the player
exposes cards himself, he has no remedy.
_=15.=_ Should any player receive more or less than his proper 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 new deal if no bet
has been made; or he may ask the dealer to give him another card 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 top of the
pack. If a bet has been made, there must be a new deal. Should the
player take up his hand, or look at any card in it, he has no remedy.
_=16.=_ Should a player take up a hand containing more or less than
five cards, or look at any card in it, such a hand is foul, and he must
abandon it, forfeiting any interest he may have in that pool. If one
player has six cards and his neighbour four, neither having lifted or
looked at any card, the dealer may be called upon to draw a card from
the six hand and give it to the four hand.
_=17. 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. Should he
straddle, the player on his left may double the amount again, provided
he has not seen any of his cards; and so on, until the limit of the
straddling is reached. This limit must not exceed one-fourth of the
betting limit. Should any player in his turn refuse to straddle, no
other player on his left can straddle.
_=18. The Ante.=_ After the cards are dealt, each player in turn,
beginning with the one to the left of the age, or to the left of the
last straddler, if any, must either abandon his hand or put into the
pool twice the amount of the blind, or of the last straddle. When it
comes to the turn of the age, and the straddlers, if any, they must
either abandon their hands, or make the amount they have in the pool
equal to twice the amount of the blind, or of the last straddle, if any.
_=19. Raising the Ante.=_ Each player, when it is his turn to come in,
may add to the amount of the ante any sum within the betting limit.
This will compel any player coming in after him to equal the total of
the ante and the raise, or to abandon his hand; and it will also give
such following player the privilege of raising again by any further
amount within the betting limit. Should any player decline to equal
the amount put up by any previous player, he must abandon his hand,
together with all his interest in that pool. Any player who has been
raised in this manner may raise again in his turn; and not until each
player holding cards has anted an equal amount will the game proceed.
_=20. Winning the Antes.=_ Should any player have put up an amount
which no other player will equal, he takes whatever counters are then
in the pool, without showing his hand, and the deal passes to the next
player on the dealer’s left. Should only one player come in, and the
age decline to make good his ante, the player who has come in wins the
blind, unless jack pots are played. Should any player have straddled
the blind, or raised the ante, there can be no jack pot.
_=21. Making Jacks.=_ If no player will come in, it is a Natural Jack,
and all the hands must be abandoned, each player putting up for the
ensuing deal the amount agreed upon. If no one has straddled the blind,
or raised the ante, and only one player has come in, the age may do one
of four things: He may forfeit his blind; or he may make the ante good;
or he may raise it; or he may demand that the single player who has
come in shall take down his ante, the age putting up twice the amount
agreed upon for jack pots; once for himself, and once for the player
who came in. All the other players must then put up for the ensuing
deal. This is an Only-Two-In Jack.
_=22. Drawing Cards.=_ When two or more players have come in for an
equal amount, the others having abandoned their hands, each of them in
turn, beginning with the one on the dealer’s left, may discard any or
all of the cards originally dealt him, and draw others in their place.
The number discarded and drawn, if any, must be distinctly announced by
each player, including the dealer; and the fresh cards must be given
face down from the top of the pack, without any further shuffling or
cutting. Each player must receive the entire number he asks for before
the next player is helped. No player shall receive from the dealer more
or fewer than he discards; so that if he is playing with a short hand,
such as four cards only, he will still have four cards after the draw;
and if his hand was originally foul, it will so remain.
_=23. Exposed Cards.=_ In dealing for the draw, should any card be
found faced in the pack, or should any card be exposed by the dealer
in giving out the cards, or be blown over by the wind before the
player has touched it, such cards must be placed on the table with
the discards. The player whose card has been exposed does not receive
another in its place until all the other players, including the dealer,
have been helped.
_=24. Incorrect Draws.=_ Should any player ask for an incorrect number
of cards, he must take them; unless he discovers the error before the
next player has been helped. If too many have been asked for, he must
discard before seeing them. If too few, and he lifts any of them, he
holds a foul hand. No player is allowed to take back into his hand any
card that has once been discarded. If he has taken up the cards, or
has seen any of them, and has too many, his hand is foul, and must be
abandoned. If the dealer gives himself more cards than he needs, he
must take them; but if less, he can supply the deficiency, provided he
has not looked at any of the drawn cards.
_=25. Incorrect Dealing.=_ Should the dealer give any player more
or fewer cards than he asks for, and the player discover the error
before taking them up or seeing any of them, the dealer must withdraw
the surplus card, and place it on the top of the pack. Should the
dealer give a player fewer cards than he asks for, he must supply the
deficiency when his attention is called to it, without waiting to
supply the other players. Should the dealer give cards to any player
out of his proper turn, he may correct the error if none of the cards
have been seen; not otherwise.
_=26. The Last Card=_ of the pack must not be dealt. When only two
cards remain, and more than one is asked for, they must be mixed with
the discards and abandoned hands, and the whole shuffled together, and
presented to the pone to be cut. Discards of those who have yet to draw
must not be gathered.
_=27.=_ After the cards have been delivered by the dealer, no player
has the right to be informed how many cards any player drew; and any
person, bystander or player, volunteering the information, except the
player himself, may be called upon to pay to the player against whom he
informs an amount equal to that then in the pool. Any player who has
made good the ante and drawn cards may, before making a bet, ask how
many cards the dealer drew, and the dealer must inform him.
_=28. Betting After the Draw.=_ The first player who holds cards on
the left of the age must make the first bet, whether he has straddled
or not. If he declines to bet he must abandon his hand. The fact that
the age is not playing makes no difference, as his privilege cannot
be transferred to any other player. Bets may vary in amount from one
counter to the betting limit. If no player will bet, the age takes the
pool without showing his hand; or, if he has passed out before the
draw, the last player on his right who holds cards wins the pool.
_=29. Raising the Bets.=_ Should any player make a bet, each player
in turn on his left must either bet an equal amount or abandon his
hand. Should any player bet an equal amount, he has the privilege of
increasing the bet to any further sum within the betting limit. The
players on his left must then either meet the total amount of the
original bet and the raise, or abandon their hands. Any player meeting
the amount already bet has the privilege of increasing it to any
further amount within the limit, and so on, until no further raises
take place. Any player whose bet has been raised must abandon his hand
or meet the raise, with the privilege of raising again in return.
Should one player make a bet or raise which no other player will see,
he takes the pool without showing his hand, and the cards are shuffled
and cut for the next deal.
_=30. Calling the Bets.=_ As long as one player raises another’s bets,
he gives that player the privilege of raising him again; but if a
player who has made a bet is not raised, the others simply betting an
equal amount, the first bettor is called, and all betting must cease.
The players must then show their hands to the table, in order to decide
which wins the pool.
_=31.=_ Bets must be actually made by placing the counters in the pool,
and no bet is made until the player’s hand has been withdrawn from the
counters. Any counters once placed in the pool, and the owner’s hand
withdrawn, cannot be taken down again, except by the winner of the pool.
_=32. Betting Out of Turn.=_ Should any player bet out of his turn, he
cannot take down his counters again if he has removed his hand from
them. Should the player whose proper turn it was raise the bet, the
player who bet out of turn must either meet the raise or abandon his
hand, and all interest in that pool.
_=33. Mouth Bets.=_ Any player stating that he bets a certain amount,
but failing to put up the actual counters in the pool, cannot be called
upon to make the amount good after the hands are shown, or the pool is
won. If the players opposed to him choose to accept a mouth bet against
the counters they have already put up, they have no remedy, as no value
is attached to what a player says; his cards and his counters speak for
themselves. Any player wishing to raise a mouth bet has the privilege
of raising by mouth, instead of by counters; but he cannot be called
upon to make the amount good after the hands are shown, or the pool has
been won.
_=34. Showing Hands.=_ When a call is made, all the hands must be
shown to the table, and the best poker hand wins the pool. Any player
declining to show his hand, even though he admits that it is not good,
must pay an amount equal to the ante to each of the players at the
table; or, if jack pots are played, he must put up for all of them in
the next jack pot. When the hands are called, there is no penalty for
mis-calling a hand; the cards, like the counters, speak for themselves.
_=35. Rank of the Hands.=_ The best poker hand is a _=Royal Flush=_; A
K Q J 10 of the same suit, which beats a
_=Straight Flush=_; any sequence of five cards of the same suit.
_=Four of a Kind=_; such as four 10’s and an odd card.
_=Full Hand=_; three of a kind and a pair, such as three 8’s and a pair
of Q’s, which beats a
_=Flush=_; five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence.
_=Straight=_; five cards in sequence, but of various suits. In
straights, the Ace cannot be used to form such combinations as Q K A 2
3; but it may be used as the bottom of 5 4 3 2, or the top of 10 J Q K.
Straights beat
_=Three of a Kind=_; such as three K’s and two odd cards.
_=Two Pairs=_; such as two 9’s and two 7’s, with an odd card.
_=A Pair=_; such as two Aces and three odd cards.
If no pair is shown, the _=Highest Card=_ wins.
A short hand, such as four cards, cannot be claimed as either a
straight or a flush.
_=36. Ties.=_ In case of ties, the highest of the odd cards decides it.
Ultimate ties must divide the pool. When combinations of equal rank are
shown, the one containing the highest cards wins, the rank of the cards
being, A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2; so that two pairs, K’s and 4’s, will
beat two pairs, Q’s and J’s. Three 5’s and a pair of 2’s, will beat
three 4’s and a pair of aces.
JACK POT LAWS.
_=37. The Antes.=_ There is neither age nor straddle in jack pots.
Every one at the table must ante an equal amount. Any player may
decline to ante, by saying: “I pass this jack;” and the dealer will
give him no cards.
_=38. Opening.=_ After the cards are dealt, each player in turn,
beginning on the dealer’s left, may open the pot for any amount he
pleases within the betting limit, provided he holds a pair of Jacks,
or some hand better than a pair of Jacks. If he does not hold openers,
or does not wish to open the pot with them, he must say: “I pass;” but
must not abandon his hand, under penalty of paying five counters to the
pool.