The Book of Card Games: The Complete Rules to the Classics, Family Favorite and Forgotten Games (19 page)

The elder hand discards anywhere from one to five cards face down and then picks up that number of cards from the talon. The younger hand then does the same, discarding anywhere from one to the number of cards not taken by the elder hand (if the elder hand discarded and took five cards from the talon, there are only three remaining for the younger hand). The players keep their discards next to them and may refer to them during play if needed for reference.

The scoring of your hand is made up of three categories: the count of the hand, the count during play, and the extraordinary scores. Only the player with the best combination in each category scores for that category. The hand is counted as follows:

• Point:
  the most cards in one suit. The number of cards in the suit is announced and the score is equal to that value.
  
• Sequence:
  the longest run of consecutive cards in one suit (requires a minimum of three cards). A sequence of three cards (tierce) scores three points. A sequence of four cards (quart) scores four points. A sequence of five cards (quint) scores fifteen points. A sequence of six cards (sixième) scores sixteen points. A sequence of seven cards (septième) scores seventeen points. A sequence of eight cards (huitième) scores eighteen points.
  
• Set:
  a group of cards of the same rank. Three aces, kings, queens, jacks, or tens (trio) scores three points. Four aces, kings, queens, jacks, or tens (quatorze) scores fourteen points.
  

The elder hand begins by announcing his best combination in each category. You do not state the exact cards or suits—instead, you just give a number and/or the French term as above. After his announcement, the younger hand says “good” to signify that the elder’s hand is better than his own best combination, “not good” to signify that he has a better combination, or “equal” to signify that the information is equal. If you say “equal,” the elder hand must give more information about the suits or cards so that you can finally declare “good” or “not good.” If the player with the winning sequence or set has multiple sequences or sets, he scores for each of those. If requested, you must show your winning combination to your opponent.

After the elder hand has counted all of the points in his hand, he leads any card in his hand. The younger hand counts the points in his hand and then plays a card, following the suit of the elder hand if possible. The player who plays the highest card in whatever suit was led wins the trick and scores one point. Based on the declarations, you now have some idea of the cards in your opponent’s hand, and he has an idea of what is in yours. You continue playing tricks, with the winner of the previous trick leading to the next one. Your goal during this stage of the game is to win as many tricks as possible in order to score points. Each time you win a trick, you score a point, and each time you lead a trick you score another point. After all the cards in your and your opponent’s hand have been played, the player who won the most tricks scores ten points. If you each score six tricks apiece, neither of you scores the ten points.

There are also four sets of extraordinary points that can be won during play, as follows:

• Carte blanche:
  As discussed earlier, this is a hand with no court cards and scores ten points.
  
• Pique:
  If you score thirty points in a hand and while playing your tricks, before your opponent scores any points—you win a “pique” and score thirty points. Only the elder hand can win a pique, as he scores one point for the first lead.
  
• Repique:
  If you score thirty points in hand alone, before playing any tricks and before your opponent scores any points, you win a “repique” and score sixty points. Either player can win a repique.
  
• Capot:
  If you win all twelve tricks, you score forty points (instead of the ten points for winning the most).
  

After the first hand has been played, you play five additional hands for a total of six, or a “partie.” At the end of the partie, the player with the highest points subtracts his opponent’s points from his own and adds 100 points. If one player does not score 100 points, he is “rubiconed.” In this case, the player with the higher points adds both sets of points together and 100 points on top of that. The game is now over, and you can use your cumulative scores in tournaments or for future play.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:
Two or more

EQUIPMENT:
One standard deck of fifty-two cards

TIME:
One hour+

PARTNERSHIP:
No

COMPLEXITY:
Medium

Poker is the most popular gambling card game and is played everywhere card games are played. There are literally hundreds of versions of poker available to play, and you can play it at home, in a casino, or on the Internet. You can play poker for pennies or for thousands of dollars. Regardless, every poker player plays with a little luck and a lot of tactics.

Poker, its name, and its history are a great mystery to those who study and play the game. There are no specific ancestors of poker to derive a date from, but because of its basic principle, it is considered very old. The earliest knowledge of the game in the United States comes from a reference to the game being played in 1834 on Mississippi riverboats. Poker appeared to be more legitimate than three-card monte, and so it attracted quite a following of “honest” gamblers. Modifications to the game, such as stud poker, draw, and the straight, became popular during the Civil War, and the joker was introduced as a wild card in 1875.

There are various theories about the origin of the name of poker. Some claim it is a derivative of the French game Poque. Others state that is from the German game Pochspiel, which has an element of bluffing, or Hindu’s Pukka. Another theory is that poker is a variation of the slang “poke,” a term used by pickpockets. Poker has continued to evolve over the years and has a colorful past in saloons, game halls, and casinos. Whatever its origin, poker has become the most popular card game and even boasts many tournaments and competitions.

You have to know the basics of poker before sitting down to play a game. There are specific rankings of poker hands, odds for betting, odds for bettering your hand, rules for betting, and more. Poker is a game in which everyone plays for himself. There are no teams or partnerships, and you want to win as much money as you can through betting and playing your hands wisely. You can play poker with anywhere from two to thirteen players, but you’ll find that it’s usually best played with five to eight players. Poker is played with a standard deck of fifty-two cards, although some games require more decks and cards added, such as adding jokers as wild cards. The cards rank from high to low as ace, king, queen, jack, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, and two.

There are four suits: hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. No suit is higher than the other. A poker hand is made with five cards. The hands rank from high to low as follows:

• Five of a kind:
  This hand only exists if you are playing with wild cards (for instance, joker A♥ A♠ A♦ A♣).
  
• Royal flush:
  The sequence of cards, 10 J Q K A, all in the same suit.
  
• Straight flush:
  Any sequence of cards, all in the same suit (such as 5♥ 6♥ 7♥ 8♥ 9♥). If there is a tie, the player with the higher straight wins.
  
• Four of a kind:
  Four cards of the same value (such as 8♥ 8♠ 8♦ 8♣), and one card of a different value.
  
• Full house:
  Three cards of one value and a pair (such as 2♥ 2♠ 2♣ 6♦ 6♥). When there is a tie, the higher three-of-a-kind wins the hand.
  
• Flush:
  Any five cards of the same suit (such as A♣ 4♣ 5♣ 9♣ K♣). When there is a tie, the flush with the highest card wins. If they are the same value, the second highest card wins, and so on.
  
• Straight:
  Any five consecutive cards in any combination of suits (such as 9♦ 10♦ J♣ Q♥ K♣). When there are two straights, the higher straight wins.
  
• Three of a kind:
  Three cards of the same value and two cards of differing values. When there is a tie, the higher three-of-a-kind wins.
  
• Two pair:
  Two sets of two cards of the same value (such as 4♦ 4♣ Q♥ Q♦) and one card of a differing value. When there is a tie, the highest pair wins the hand. If the high pairs are the same value, the higher second pair wins.
  
• Pair:
  Two cards of the same value and three cards of differing values. When there are two pairs, the higher pair wins the hand. If they are the same value, the highest kicker wins.
  
• High card:
  The highest card in a mix of five dissimilar cards. When there is a tie, the second highest card wins.
  

Experts play the game of poker with a good understanding of the odds. Knowing what the odds are of being dealt a specific hand in poker doesn’t do much to improve your game. But knowing the difference between “pot odds” and “card odds” can help you formulate your betting strategy and, in the long run, help make you a winning player. Card odds describe the probability that you’ll improve your hand with a draw or the next round of dealing. To gauge your card odds, consider how many cards are left in the deck that can improve your hand. For example, if you hold four cards to a flush, you need one more card of that suit to make the flush. There are thirteen cards in each suit (if you’re playing without wild cards), and you hold four of them, so there are nine more cards that can help your hand. You’ve only seen five of the fifty-two cards in the deck (those in your hand), but you know that there are thirty-eight cards that will not help your hand (52 – 5 – 9 = 38). Therefore, the odds of drawing a flush with the next card are nine in thirty-eight (or slightly more than one in four). In a game where you can see some of the cards held by your opponents, you must take these into consideration too. If an opponent is showing a card of your suit, that’s one less card available to make your flush.

Pot odds are easy to figure. This is the ratio of the amount of money you have to put in to the value of the pot. If the pot is worth $100 and you have to put in $5 to continue playing, the pot odds are 20 to 1, so if you hold a hand that has better than 1:20 odds of improving to a winning hand, you should call a bet.

In the above example of a four-card flush, your chances are 1:4 of making the flush. You should therefore call a bet only if the pot odds are better than 4:1. In the case of a $5 bet, you should call a bet if the pot size is greater than $20.

In most versions of poker, you ante for the right to play before the cards are dealt. Some games call for a “forced bring-in,” in which a player is required to bet to start the action; in seven-card stud, the player with the lowest up-card has to make the forced bring-in to get things started. Other games, like Texas Hold ’Em and Omaha, have blind bets (“blinds”), which are similar to the bring-in; blinds are paid by the player or players to the left of the dealer’s button.