| All Questions: |
| · How many poker hands are possible ? |
| · What are the hand rankings ? |
| · What happens if two players share the same hand ? |
| · What does pot-limit mean ? |
| · What is a straddle bet ? |
| · Why are poker hands ranked the way they are ? |
| · What is the Dead Man`s Hand ? |
| · What is a satellite ? |
| Question: |
| · How many poker hands are possible ? |
| Answer: |
| There are: C(52,5) = 2,598,960 possible poker hands. |
| Question: |
| · What are the hand rankings ? |
| Answer: |
| Poker is usually played with a standard 4-suit 52-card deck, but a joker or other wild cards may be added. The ace normally plays high, but can sometimes play low, as explained below. At the showdown, those players still remaining compare their hands according to the following rankings:Straight flush, five cards of the same suit in sequence, such as 76543 of hearts. Ranked by the top card, so that AKQJT is the best straight flush, also called a royal flush. The ace can play low to make 5432A, the lowest straight flush.Four of a kind, four cards of the same rank accompanied by a “kicker”, like 44442. Ranked by the quads, so that 44442 beats 3333K, and then ranked by the side card, so that 4444A beats 4444K(*).Full house, three cards of one rank accompanied by two of another, such as 777JJ. Ranked by the trips, so that 44422 beats 333AA, and then ranked by the pair, so that 444AA beats 444KK(*).Flush, five cards of the same suit, such as AJ942 of hearts. Ranked by the top card, and then by the next card, and so on for all five cards, so that AJ942 beats AJ876. Suits are not used to break ties.Straight, five cards in sequence, such as 76543. The ace plays either high or low, making AKQJT and 5432A. “Around the corner” straights like 32AKQ are usually not allowed.Three of a kind, three cards of the same rank and two kickers of different ranks, such as KKK84. Ranked by the trips, so that KKK84 beats QQQAK, and then ranked by the two kickers, so that QQQAK beats QQQA7(*).Two pair, two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank and a kicker of a third rank, such as KK449. Ranked by the top pair, then the bottom pair and finally the kicker, so that KK449 beats any of QQJJA, KK22Q, and KK445.One pair, two cards of one rank accompanied by three kickers of different ranks, such as AAK53. Ranked by the pair, followed by each kicker in turn, so that AAK53 beats AAK52.High card, any hand that does not qualify as one of the better hands above, such as KJ542 of mixed suits. Ranked by the top card, then the second card and so on for all five cards, as for flushes. Suits are not used to break ties.(* Such matchups are only possible in games where there are wild cards or where community cards are shared, such as Texas Hold`em.) Suits are not used to break ties, nor are cards beyond the fifth; only the best five cards in each hand are used in the comparison. In the case of a tie, the pot is split equally among the winning hands. Several variations are possible when playing for low. Some games permit the ace to play low and ignore straights and flushes, making 5432A the best possible low, even if it makes a straight flush. Other games just reverse the order used for high hands, making 75432 of mixed suits the best possible low. Still others count straights and flushes against you but let the ace play low, making 6432A best. Note that in most games in which the ace plays low, a pair of aces is lower than a pair of deuces, just as an ace is lower than a deuce. When a joker is in play, it usually can only be used as an ace or to complete a straight or flush. It cannot be used as a true wild card, for example, as a queen to make QQ43X play as three queens. When playing for low, the joker becomes the lowest rank not already held, so 864AX is played as 8642A, with the joker used as a deuce. Although true wild cards are rarely seen in a casino, they are a popular way to add excitement to a home game. Wild cards introduce an additional hand, five of a kind, which normally ranks above a straight flush. They can also cause confusion when two players hold the same hand composed of different wild card combinations. The standard rules of poker do not distinguish between such hands, but some players prefer to rank hands using fewer wild cards above less “natural” versions of the same hand. |
| Question: |
| · What happens if two players share the same hand ? |
| Answer: |
| In some forms of poker it is fairly common for two or more players to end up with the same best hand. In that case, the players with equal hands split the pot equally between them. Remember that only the best five cards of a player`s hand are considered in the showdown. If the best five cards yield a tie, you do not use additional cards to break the tie. Also, you don`t look at the suits to break a tie. It`s simply a tie. Here are some examples:In Holdem, one player has [Ah Jc] and another player has [As Jd]. The final board is Ad Ts 8s 4h 2d. Both players have a pair of aces with J-T-8 kickers. They split the pot.In Holdem, one player has [Ah Jc] and another player has [As 2d]. The final board is Ad Kc Ts Th 2c. Both players have two pair, aces and tens, with a king kicker. They split the pot.In Holdem, one player has [Ah Ac], a second player has [8s 7s], and a third player has [5s 4h]. The final board is Th 9h 8d 7d 6c. All three players have a straight, ten high. This is called “playing the board”. They split the pot three ways.In Omaha high/low split, one player has [Ac 3d Th Td] and another player has [As 3s 4c 5d]. The final board is 2c 4d 8s Ts Jc. Remember that in Omaha, each player must play exactly two cards from his hand and three from the board, but can use a different two cards for the high and low halves of the pot. For the high half of the pot, the first player plays [Th Td] for three of a kind, tens, with J-8 kickers, while the second player plays [As 4c] for a pair of fours, A-J-T kickers. The first player wins all of the high half of the pot. For the low half of the pot, the first player plays [Ac 3d] for an 8-4-3-2-A low, while the second player plays [As 3s] for an 8-4-3-2-A low. They have the same hand for low, so they split the low half of the pot. All told, the first player wins three quarters of the pot and the second player wins one quarter.In Seven-card Stud, one player has [Ac Ad Tc Td Js 8s 4s] and another player has [As Ah Ts Th 5s 5h Jd]. Both players have two pair, aces and tens, with a jack kicker. You don`t consider the sixth or seventh cards. You can see this is pretty unusual for stud and happens mostly with straights.What about the extra chip? If you split the pot and there is an extra chip left over, the usual rule is to award it to the first winning player in the clockwise direction from the dealer. |
| Question: |
| · What does pot-limit mean ? |
| Answer: |
| In pot limit, as in all poker, you may fold, or call the previous bet – which may be a forced blind, if there is no previous voluntary bet – or you may raise. A raise, as in all poker, must be at least as large as the previous bet or raise. In pot limit, however, your raise may be no larger than the size of the pot after your call. If you are the opening bettor on a round for which no blinds are made, your bet can be no more than the size of the pot. Say that the pot contains p units before a previous bettor bets (or blinds) b units. You wish to raise the maximum. What is the total amount that you should bet? The size of the pot when it is your turn to act is p+b. Your action includes a call, making the pot p+2b, and thus the amount of your raise will be p+2b and your total bet will be p+3b. Therefore: If you wish to raise the previous bettor (or big blind) the maximum amount, your total bet will be three times the previous bet plus the size of the pot before the previous bet was made. If you are the first to act on the first round, the size of the pot before the previous bet is the total of the small blind(s), and the previous bet is the big blind. Sometimes the minimum betting unit is larger than the size of one or more blinds. E.g., it may be that only $5 chips play for betting, but one or more blinds are smaller than $5. In this case, the maximum initial bring-in is rounded to the betting unit. Some people state the general rule that the maximum initial bring-in is “four times the big blind.” This is correct only if the total of the small blinds, after rounding if appropriate, is equal to the big blind, and this is not always the case. E.g., in a tournament when the blinds are $100 and $200, the maximum bring-in is $700, not $800. The correct rule is “three times the big blind plus the total of the small blinds, rounded as appropriate.”Examples:1, 2, and 5 blinds. 3 times 5 = 15; 15 + 1 + 2 = 18. Assuming that the minimum betting unit is 5, the maximum initial bring-in would be 18 rounded up to become 20 — a raise of 15.With 1, 2, and 5 blinds, someone brings it in for 10. The maximum bet of the next to act would be 3 times 10 = 30, plus the total blinds of 7, rounded up to 40 — a raise of 30.The pot contains, say, 1 unit. Suppose each successive bettor wishes to raise the maximum; how fast will the bets increase? size of pot before 3 x previous bet previous bet previous bet + size of pot before previous bet = next bet 1 – 1 1 1 4 2 4 14 6 14 48 20 48 164 68 164 560 232 560 1912 So, if the initial pot size were $100, the seventh maniacal raiser would be making a total bet of $191,200. The action can escalate quickly. |
| Question: |
| · What is a straddle bet ? |
| Answer: |
| In limit Hold`em and other flop games players are frequently allowed to make a bet called a straddle bet, sometimes known as a live blind, live raise, or live-<amount> where <amount> is the amount of the bet. The player who follows the big blind and would normally be under the gun can raise before cards before cards are dealt. Players that act after him must call the raise, fold, or raise the bet themselves. The straddler`s raise is live – if no-one else raises, s/he has the option to reraise after the blinds have acted. If straddle bets are allowed, the player behind the straddler can also post a straddle by raising again, and so on until the maximum number of bets is reached. For example: In a 6-12 game, the blinds are 3 and 6, the player after the small blind makes it live-12 by raising before the cards are dealt, and the player after him can make it live-18. |
| Question: |
| · Why are poker hands ranked the way they are ? |
| Answer: |
| The standard poker hands are ranked based on the probability of their being dealt pat in 5 cards from a full 52-card deck. The following table lists the hands in order of increasing frequency, and shows how many ways each hand can be dealt in 3, 5, and 7 cards.Hand 3 cards 5 cards 7 cards ==== ======= ======= ======= Straight Flush 48 40 41,584 Four of a Kind 0 624 224,848 Full House 0 3,744 3,473,184 Flush 1,096 5,108 4,047,644 Straight 720 10,200 6,180,020 Three of a Kind 52 54,912 6,461,620 Two Pair 0 123,552 31,433,400 One Pair 3,744 1,098,240 58,627,800 High Card 16,440 1,302,540 23,294,460 ================================================================= TOTALS 22,100 2,598,960 133,784,560The standard rankings are incorrect for 3-card hands, since it is easier to get a flush than a straight, and easier to get a straight than three of a kind. For 7-card hands, the numbers reflect the best possible 5-card hand out of the 7 cards. For instance, a hand that contains both a straight and three of a kind is counted as a straight. For 7-card hands, only five cards need be in sequence to make a straight, or of the same suit to make a flush. In a 3-card hand a sequence of three is considered a straight, and three of the same suit a flush. These rules reflect standard poker practice. In a 7-card hand, it is easier for one`s *best* 5 cards to have one or two pair than no pair. (Good bar bet opportunity!) However, if we changed the ranking to value no pairs above two pairs, all of the one pair hands and most of the two pair hands would be able to qualify for “no pair” by choosing a different set of five cards. Within each type of hand (e.g., among all flushes) the hands are ranked according to an arbitrary scheme, unrelated to probability. |
| Question: |
| · What is the Dead Man`s Hand ? |
| Answer: |
| Legend holds that Wild Bill Hickok was shot to death during a poker game in Deadwood, South Dakota, and that the hand he held was two pair, black aces and black eights. On that most people agree. The fifth card is not known for certain. In order of credibility, the following kickers have been suggested:Five of Diamonds – The actual card is supposedly on display in Deadwood, previously on display at the Stardust in Las Vegas.Nine of Diamonds – Listed below in the glossary, this card was supposedly reported by first hand accounts, and is used in a recreation in Deadwood.Queen of Clubs – On display at Ripley`s Believe it or Not.King of Spades – Appeared in the 1936 movie The Plainsman with Gary Cooper as Hickok. |
| Question: |
| · What is a satellite ? |
| Answer: |
| A “satellite” is a tournament in which the prize is an entry to another tournament. Large tournaments like the $10,000 No-limit Hold`em event in the World Series of Poker generate a lot of satellites. Typically, the satellite buy-in is around 1/10 the tournament buy-in, so the top 10% of satellite finishers win a tournament buy-in. Sometimes a satellite will even have mini-satellites, in which the prize is an entry to the main satellite. A mini-satellite for the $10,000 event might have a $100 buy-in and award a $1,000 buyin to a satellite that is awarding a $10,000 buy-in to the main event. A satellite format popular in the larger tournaments is the “super-satellite”. This is a multi-table tournament that awards a number of entries into the main tournament. The buy-in to the super can be as little as 2% of the buy-in to the main tournament, with rebuys usually permitted. Depending on the number of entrants and rebuys, the top N finishers receive an entry into the main tournament. The strategy late in a super-satellite can be unusual because of the flat payout structure. |