Read My Lips! No New Texas!

The average American has played cards, and most likely, has played some form of poker. The most common form, at least in recreational play, is five card draw. Now, I'm no card expert, so I'll do the best I can explaining the rules.

In five card draw, each player gets five cards face down given to them by one player designated as the dealer. From those five cards, the players can return up to 4 cards back. Sometimes, there are rules as to how many cards you can return. The dealer then gives them that many cards back. The player may only do this once.
Then, there is a round of bidding, and the player with the best hand wins. Sometimes cards are made "wild" (such as jokers, black jacks, and so forth). The player is allowed to change the card to any other card to improve his or her hand.

To be honest, this form of poker is rather boring. Few people ever got addicted to this kind of poker, and it's not even, as far as I know, played at casinos.

But an unusual phenomenon happened about five or so years ago. Texas Hold'em. This form of poker has become so wildly popular that people you thought would never gamble play the game.

Ah, gambling. I have a friend who tells me gambling is just taking chances, sort of like playing the lottery. The odds are completely stacked against you, and so your chances of winning are miniscule. He claims playing poker is not gambling, because it involves strategy and playing the odds. If you play correctly, you will, over the long term, make money.

Here are the rules of Texas Hold Em. Again, one player is designated the dealer. He or she hands out two cards, face down, to each player. These are called the hole cards. Each player has an opportunity to bet after this round.

The first two players (sitting to the left of the dealer) must start off with a preset bid. The first player puts down an amount called the small blind, which is usually half the ante, say, $5. The second player puts down the full amoutn, called the big blind, say $10. This money is put in the "center" of the table, and is called the pot. The purpose of the blinds is to put money in the pot, so there is some money at stake.

Each successive player (which moves left) must either choose to match the highest amount placed in the pot by any single player, or they must match it, then raise the amount, or they must fold (withdraw). For example, if the highest amount placed in the pot is $10, then either I must put in $10 (total), or raise (say to $15), or fold (quit). If I fold, then I can not get back any money I put in the pot. But then, I don't lose any more money either.

This round of bidding is called the preflop.

Then, the dealer deals 3 community cards face up in the center of the table. This is called the flop. Everyone shares the community cards. You make your hand from the two hole cards you have plus the three best community cards (for your hand).

A round of bidding goes starting at the dealer's left. Since there's money already in the pot, there's no need to start off with any more money. You can "check" (ie, don't put in additional money), or raise (put in more money), or fold. Bidding stops when each person has put in the same amount of money (not including those who folded).

Then, the dealer lays another community card. This is called the turn.

Again, another round of bidding.

Finally, the dealer lays the fifth community card. This is called the river.

Again, another round of bidding.

The player who has the best five card hand, made from his/her two hole cards, plus three of the community cards wins the pot.

The key to this game is to note what hand you have, and based on the bidding patterns of others, what hand they are likely to have. The better your opponents, the easier it is to predict, to some extent, what their actions mean. Bad players tend to play regardless of whether they have a good or bad hand. They're tough to bluff, but tend to stay in games even when it's prudent not to.

Because there are five community cards, you have a great deal of information, and this makes bidding particularly interesting. With five card draw, you have no information except perhaps what people bid, so this makes it boring.

I'm told that Texas Hold-em is more interesting than say, seven card stud, which is also popular, because you can win more money in a hurry. This also means you can lose more money in a hurry too.

This game, for some reason, has become wildly popular. An incredible number of people play it, and yet, before this phenomenon took off, you could only find a small fraction of those people who would admit that they could be so addicted to poker. I admit, I'm baffled by the psychology behind it.

If you can figure it out, let me know.