There is a way to compute the Skalansky Malmuth table for those people who have trouble memorizing. The results are almost identical to those generated using the Chen Point Count.[1] To compute the point count the following formula should apply:
Take the high card and score it. A=10,K=8,Q=7,J=6,T-2 = 1/2 value shown.
If the 2nd card pairs the first the value is either twice the high card point or 5 which ever is greater.
If they are not paired then calculate the gap for the lower card and subtract off a gap penalty:.
For a 0 gapper subtract 0,
For a 1 gapper subtract 1
For a 2 gapper subtract 2
For a 3 gapper subtract 4
For a 4 gapper or more subtract 5 (includes A2,A3,A4).
If the cards are of the same suit apply a flush bonus of +2 pts.
If the cards are a 0 or 1 gap and the top card is a J or lower apply a +1 straight bonus
Round 1/2 point up
Then 12 – Chen Point Count in general is the SM hand grouping. Examples:
8♣ 8♠: 4 pts for the first 8, double for the pair is 8 Chen points. This puts it in S&M group 4.
9♣ 7♣: 4.5 points for the 9, -1 for the 1 gapper, +2 for the same suit and +1 for the straight bonus. Round up to 7 Chen points which is in S&M group 5.
The following hands are the exceptions (off by 1): 55, AQs, A9, AX, 96s, 32s, 98, 97, 76.
Notes
^ Lou Krieger, Hold’em Excellence, ch Power Rating ISBN 1886070148
There are (52 × 51)/2 = 1,326 distinct possible combinations of two hole cards from a standard 52-card deck in hold ‘em, but since suits have no relative value in poker, many of these hands are identical in value before the flop. For example, A♣J♣ and A♥J♥ are identical, because each is a hand consisting of an ace and a jack of the same suit. There are 169 nonequivalent starting hands in hold ‘em (13 pocket pairs, 13 × 12 / 2 = 78 suited hands and 78 unsuited hands; 13 + 78 + 78 = 13 × 13 = 169). These 169 hands are not equally likely. Hold ‘em hands are sometimes classified as having one of three “shapes”:
Pairs, (or “pocket pairs”), which consist of two cards of the same rank (e.g. 9♠9♣). One hand in 17 will be a pair, each occurring with individual probability 1/221 (P(pair) = 3/51 = 1/17).
Suited hands, which contain two cards of the same suit (e.g. A♠6♠). Four hands out of 17 will be suited, and each suited configuration occurs with probability 2/663 (P(suited) = 12/51 = 4/17).
Offsuit hands, which contain two cards of different suit and rank (e.g. K♠J♥). Twelve out of 17 hands will be nonpair, offsuit hands, each of which occurs with probability 2/221 (P(offsuit non-pair) = 3*(13-1)/51 = 12/17).
It is typical to abbreviate suited hands in hold ‘em by affixing an “s” to the hand, as well as to abbreviate non-suited hands with an “o” (for offsuit). That is,
QQ represents any pair of queens,
AK (or, sometimes, AKo) represents any ace and king of different suits, and
In the poker game Texas hold ‘em, a player’s hand consists of two hole cards, which belong solely to the player and remain hidden from the other players. Five community cards are also dealt into play. Betting begins before any of the community cards are exposed, and continues throughout the hand.
The player’s “playing hand”, which will be compared against that of each competing player, is the best 5-card poker hand available from his two hole cards and the five community cards.
Unless otherwise specified, here the term hand applies to the player’s two hole cards, or starting hand.
Each player in turn (in the order of play), ending with the dealer, totals up the points in his hand, including the turn-up card, and pegs the amount. The order in which this is done is important as a player who tallies his score first may peg out and thus win the game even though another player’s tally would take him to an even greater score. In a standard, two-handed game, the hands are scored in the following order:
Non-dealer’s hand
Dealer’s hand
Dealer’s crib
In general, hands are scored starting with the player to the dealer’s left, then rotating round to finish with the dealer’s hand, then the dealer’s crib.
Points are scored for:
points for having a group of cards that total 15 (again, face cards count 10, aces 1),
points for having a pair (notice that three of a kind forms three pairs, hence scores 6 points, and four of a kind scores 12; three of a kind is sometimes called a “pair royal” or “proil”, with 4 of a kind being a “double royal” or “double proil”),
points for a run of three, 4 for a run of four, etc.
The number of cards in the hand (3 in five card, 4 in six card, 5 in seven card) points for a flush (that is cards of the same suit) not including the turn-up card, one more if the turn-up card is included. If you have a Jack in your hand when you score a flush, you still get to count one point for the “right Jack” assuming it is of the same suit as the turned up card (this is often overlooked by beginners). Also, the crib must be all the same suit (including turned up card) to score any flush points,
point “for his nob” or “nibs” for having a Jack of the same suit as the turn-up card (also known as the “right Jack”).
For example, if a player has the Ace, 6, 7 and 8 of Spades in his hand and the turn up card is the 6 of Hearts, he would score:
“Fifteen six” – for three ways to form 15, that is 7 and 8, and Ace, 6 and 8 twice,
“and two” – for a pair of sixes,
“and six” – for two runs of three (6, 7, 8),
“and four” – for the flush,
“makes eighteen” – the total.
The score is traditionally read as shown, though players may simply declare the score, particularly with low-scoring hands. The highest possible score in six card cribbage is 29, for a holding of 5, 5, 5, J with a turn-up of a 5 of the same suit as the Jack. This scores:
“fifteen sixteen” – for J-5 four times and 5-5-5 four times,
“and twelve” – for four 5s,
“and one for his nob makes twenty-nine.”
(Don’t be too concerned about how to score this particular hand, as acquiring this hand is extremely rare).
In the seven-card game it is a whopping 46, scored by 4,4,5,5,6,6 (including turn-up), that is fifteen 16, 24 in runs and 6 in pairs.
Not every score below these can actually be made and the lowest of those that can’t is 19 (except in seven-card). Because of this, a player with a hand scoring 0 will often declare “nineteen”. Another name for a hand scoring zero points is “Ukrainian Straight”. Other common calls are “Fifteen two and the rest won’t do”, and “Fifteen four and the rest don’t score” or “Fifteen four and there ain’t no more.”
In a variation called “Muggins”, if a player does not claim points either in the play or in the show, their opponent may announce “Muggins” and claim those points for themselves. Whether or not to play Muggins is determined before the start of the game.
The crib
Finally the dealer tallies the points in the crib. This works precisely the same as tallying the other hands, except that a flush scores only if its suit matches that of the turn-up card.
Seven Twenty-Seven is a vying game similar in some respects to poker, and often played as a “dealer’s choice” variant at home poker games. It uses the same equipment and betting system, but the value of hands does not use traditional poker hand rankings, either high or low. Rather, only the sum of the cards is used to calculate the worth of a hand. The game is somewhat of a cross between blackjack hands and poker bluffing.The game play proceeds like this:
Each player is dealt a downcard and an upcard.
A betting round begins with the player on the dealer’s left, and proceeds exactly as in poker: all players must either equal the largest bet or drop out.
After the betting, each player may draw a card, face up, in turn from the dealer’s left. If all players pass on their opportunity to draw, there is one more round of betting, followed by a poker-style showdown. Otherwise the game continues with another betting round (often beginning to the left of the player who began the previous round) and another draw, so there can be as few as two betting rounds in the game, but more often three or four.
Numbered cards are scored at face value; face cards count for one-half a point. Aces count for one and eleven, so a hand with a five and two aces scores 7 and 27 at the same time.
On showdown, the pot is split in half, with the hand(s) valued closest to 7 and the hand(s) valued closest to 27 each winning one half of the pot. If there is a tie where two players are off by the same amount, but in different directions (6 to 8), the lower hand wins. If there is an exact tie, that half-pot is split again among the tied players. Ties are common. The same player may contest for both high and low, usually because of aces. A player with a five and two aces can win the whole pot.
There are a few variations in rules that complicate things somewhat: first, the rule about ties in different directions varies; also, some players play with a declaration, while others play cards speak.
Non-standard poker hands are hands which are not recognized by official poker rules but are created by house rules. Non-standard hands usually appear in games using wild cards or bugs. Other terms for nonstandard hands are special hands or freak hands. Because the hands are defined by house rules, the composition and ranking of these hands is subject to variation. Any player participating in a game with non-standard hands should be sure to determine the exact rules of the game before play begins.The usual hierarchy of poker hands from highest to lowest runs as follows (standard poker hands are in italics):
Five of a kind: Five cards of the same rank, only possible using one or more wild cards.
Skeet flush: The same cards as a skeet and all in the same suit.
Straight flush: The highest straight flush, A-K-Q-J-10 suited, is also called a royal flush.
Four of a kind: Between two equal sets of four of a kind (possible in wild card and community card poker games), the kicker determines the winner.
Big bobtail: A four card straight flush (four cards of the same suit in consecutive order).
Full house
Flush: When wild cards are used, a wild card contained in a flush is considered to be of the highest rank not already present in the hand. For example, in the hand (Wild) 10♥ 8♥ 5♥ 4♥, the wild card plays as the A♥, but in the hand A♣ K♣ (Wild) 9♣ 6♣, it plays as the Q♣. A variation is the double-ace flush rule, in which a wild card in a flush always plays as an ace, even if one is already present. In such a game, the hand A♠ (Wild) 9♠ 5♠ 2♠ would defeat A♦ K♦ Q♦ 10♦ 8♦ (the wild card playing as an imaginary second A♠), whereas by the standard rules it would lose (because even with the wild card playing as a K♠, the latter hand’s Q♦ outranks the former’s ♠).
Big cat: See cats and dogs below.
Little cat: See cats and dogs below.
Big dog: See cats and dogs below.
Little dog: See cats and dogs below.
Straight: When wild cards are used, the wild card becomes whichever rank is necessary to complete the straight. If two different ranks would complete a straight, it becomes the higher. For example, in the hand J♦ 10♠ 9♣ (Wild) 7♠, the wild card plays as an (of any suit; it doesn’t matter). In the hand (Wild) 6♥ 5♦ 4♥ 3♦, it plays as a
(even though a would also make a straight).
Wheel: The sequence 5-4-3-2-A. This could technically be considered a round-the-corner straight, but is frequently played even if other round-the-corner straights are not allowed, particularly in pai gow poker. When wheels are recognized as distinct from round-the-corner straights, they are ranked as straights: in most games they are considered five-high, and thus the lowest possible straights, but in pai gow poker they rank between king-high and ace-high straights.
Wrap-around straight: Also called round-the-corner straight. Consecutive cards including an ace which counts as both the high and low card. (Example Q-K-A-2-3).
Skip straight: Also called alternate straight, Dutch straight, or skipper. Cards are in consecutive order, skipping every other card. (Example 3-5-7-9-J).
Five and dime: All cards are fives, sixes, sevens, eights, nines, or tens with no pair.
Skeet: Also called pelter or bracket. A hand with a deuce; a three or a four; a five; a six, a seven, or an eight; and a nine.
Three of a kind
Little bobtail: A three card straight flush (three cards of the same suit in consecutive order).
Flash: One card of each suit plus a joker.
Blaze: Also called blazer. All cards are jacks, queens, or kings.
Two pair
Russ: Five cards of the same color.
Bobtail flush: Also called four flush. Four cards of the same suit.
Flush house: Three cards of one suit and two cards of another.
Bobtail straight: Also called four straight. Four cards in consecutive order.
One pair
High card
Some poker games are played with a deck that has been stripped of certain cards, usually low-ranking ones. For example, the Australian game of Manila uses a 32-card deck in which all cards below the rank of 7 are removed, and Mexican stud removes the s, s, and s. In both of these games, a flush ranks above a full house, because having fewer cards of each suit available makes full houses more common.
Cats and dogs
“Cats” (or “tigers”) and “dogs” are types of no-pair hands defined by their highest and lowest cards. The remaining three cards are kickers. Dogs and cats rank above straights and below flushes. Usually, when cats and dogs are played, they are the only unconventional hands allowed.
Little dog: Seven high, two low (for example, 7-6-4-3-2). It ranks just above a straight, and below a flush or any other cat or dog.
Big dog: Ace high, nine low (for example, A-K-J-10-9). Ranks above a straight or little dog, and below a flush or cat.
Little cat (or little tiger): Eight high, three low. Ranks above a straight or any dog, but below a flush or big cat.
Big cat (or big tiger): King high, eight low. It ranks just below a flush, and above a straight or any other cat or dog.
Some play that dog or cat flushes beat a straight flush, under the reasoning that a plain dog or cat beats a plain straight. This makes the big cat flush the highest hand in the game.
Kilters
A Kilter, also called Kelter, is a generic term for a number of different non-standard hands. Depending on house rules, a Kilter may be a Skeet, a Little Cat, a Skip Straight, or some variation of one of these hands.
In poker, a drawing hand is a hand that is not yet “complete”; that is, one which does not yet rank highly, but which may later, depending on what cards a player receives. This contrasts with a made hand - a hand which is already somewhat strong.An illustrative example from Texas Hold ‘em: if Alice holds A♣ K♣, Bob holds ♦ 7♦, and the flop comes ♠ 8♠ K♥, then Alice has a fairly strong “made hand” (a pair of Kings, with an Ace kicker), while Bob has a drawing hand: an open-ended straight draw. If allowed to see the final two community cards, Bob can expect to catch a or a
(thus completing his straight and winning) about a third of the time.
Whether to continue with a drawing hand is usually a function of pot odds. Typically, if a player with a strong “made hand” suspects another player of being “on a draw”, the player with the made hand will make a strong bet, so that it is mathematically incorrect for the other player to “chase”.
Two partnerships of two players each are needed to play bridge. The four players sit around a table with partners opposite one another. The compass directions are often used to refer to the four players, aligned with their seating pattern. Thus, South and North form one partnership and East and West form the other.
A session of bridge consists of many deals (also called hands or boards); the game play of each deal consists of four phases: the deal, the bidding (or auction), the play of the cards, and scoring.
The goal is to achieve as high a numerical score as possible with the dealt cards. The score is affected by two principal factors: the number of tricks bid in the auction, and the number of tricks taken during play. Broadly said, there is incentive to the players to accurately bid the number of tricks that their hands are capable of delivering, as the bonuses for bid tricks increase with the bid level (number of tricks). Thus, in the bidding stage, the pairs compete to see who proposes the highest number of tricks, and the side who wins the bidding must then fulfill that bargain by taking at least the contracted quantity of tricks in play to obtain a score. The number of tricks bid and the trump suit (or lack thereof) are referred to as a contract. The trump suit, or its absence (no trumps) is referred to as denomination or strain. If the side who wins the auction then takes the contracted number of tricks (or more), it is said to have fulfilled the contract and is awarded a score; otherwise, the contract is said to be defeated and points are awarded to the defenders.
Dealing
The game is played with a complete deck of 52 cards. One of the players is the dealer. In rubber bridge (or other “friendly” games), the cards are shuffled and the dealer distributes all the cards clockwise one at a time, starting with his left-hand opponent and ending with himself, so each player receives a hand of thirteen cards. At the same time, for convenience, the dealer’s partner usually shuffles a second deck, to be ready for use on the following deal. The deal rotates clockwise, so the dealer’s left-hand opponent will deal next.
In duplicate bridge, the hands are shuffled only once, at the beginning of the tournament, and dealt clockwise one at a time (there are also special machines for pre-dealing on large tournaments), and placed into bridge boards. At each subsequent table, each player pulls his cards from the board and counts them to ensure that the deal has not been corrupted. Unlike in other trick-taking games, the players do not throw their cards to the middle of the table in each trick; instead, each player keeps his played cards before him, to allow the completed deal to be returned to the board unaltered.
Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge
Rules of contract bridge are standardized by World Bridge Federation and published in the book “Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge”. The last edition is issued in 1997 and consists of 93 laws (articles). All duplicate bridge sponsoring organizations on lower levels must apply those rules. A large portion of the laws, though, is devoted to dealing with various irregular situations, and as such it is mostly used by tournament directors (referees) as the reference book. They are, of course, not binding for rubber and other “friendly game” players, and, instead, simpler rules for dealing with irregularities are often applied by the players themselves.
In poker, players may often use slang terms for particular types of hands. Though most are recent neologisms, others date to poker’s antiquity. All such slang terms typically connect a common concept (from life experience or storytelling) to the hand, in order to more easily characterize its general status relative to other hands. The terms range from whimsical to bawdy, with some being of a racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise controversial nature.
The following lists should not be confused with “official” poker terminology.
Individual card slang
The following table lists slang terms commonly associated with individual cards:
Card
Slang name
A
Bullet, Rocket
K
Cowboy
K♥
Alexander
K♦
Ceasar
K♠
David
K♣
Charles (Charlemagne)
Q
Lady, Bitch, Girl, Cowgirl, Mop Squeezer
Q♥
Judith (may come from Bible)
Q♦
Rachel (may come from Bible)
Q♠
Black Bitch
J
Johnny, Jackal, Knave, Hook (play on shape), Valet (from French)
T
Dime
Snowman (play on shape), Ocho (from Spanish)
Hockey Stick,Walking Stick, Candy Cane (play on shape)
Nickel
Sailboat (play on shape)
Trey (standard usage, not slang), Crab (play on shape)
Deuce (standard usage, not slang), Duck (play on deuce), Quacker (play on duck)
Five-card hand slang
Hand
Slang name
Straight flush, ace to five
Steel wheel
Four of a kind
Book, Quads (e.g., “Quad Kings”)
Four of a kind, aces
Four Pips (Each ace has one pip)
Full house
Full boat, Boat, Full
A full house is commonly referred to as Xs full of Ys where X is the three of a kind and Y is the pair. For example, 555KK would be “fives full of kings”
Flush of hearts or diamonds
Pink, All Pink
Flush of clubs or spades
Blue, All Blue
Flush of clubs
Golf Bag, Puppy Feet, Puppy Toes, Pups
Straight, ten to ace
Broadway
Straight, ace to five
Wheel, Bicycle, Bike
Three of a kind
Trips (or Trip as in Ted has trip kings.), Set
In Hold ‘em the term “set” refers to when a player has a pair in the hole and one matching card on the board, with “trips” referring to a pair on the board and one in the hand or three of a kind on the board.
Three of a kind, kings
Klan Rally, Alabama Night Riders, Three Wise Men
Three of a kind, sixes
Devil’s hand, Mark of the Beast (referring to the Number of the Beast in the Book of Revelation)
Two pair, aces and eights
Dead Man’s Hand (hand held by Wild Bill Hickok when he was shot and killed)
Two pair
Two pair is commonly shorthanded as Xs up or Xs over Ys, with the top pair as X and the bottom pair as Y. For example, KK998 would be “kings up” or “kings over nines”.)
One pair, aces
Aces and spaces (a hand with one pair of aces, and nothing else. Used derogatorily, especially in games such as seven-card stud, where two pair is a typical winning hand)
Outside straight draw
Bobtail, Open-ended
An outside straight draw: cards of two different ranks could complete the high or low end of the straight (e.g., _3456_)
Outside straight flush draw
Big Bobtail
Inside straight draw
Gutshot, Belly buster
An inside straight draw: only cards of a single rank could complete the straight (e.g., 34_67)
Double inside straight draw
Double gutshot, Double belly buster
Double inside straight draw: cards of two different ranks could fill gaps in the straight (e.g., 2_456_8)
Texas hold’em slang
The following refer to hole (pocket) cards in Texas hold ‘em:
Starting hand
Slang name
AA
Pocket Rockets, American Airlines, Bullets, Two Pips
AK
Big Slick (originally referred to A♠K♠, but the name has become common for any Ace-King, especially suited), Anna Kournikova (looks good but rarely wins), Machine Gun (AK-47), Walking Back to Houston (“I can see you learned to play in Houston. Those Houston players would come to Dallas and play that ace-king, but they’d always end up against a pair of aces. That’s why we call that hand ‘Walking back to Houston.’” – T.J. Cloutier, quoted by Barry Greenstein)
AQ
Little Slick, Big Chick, Mrs. Slick
AJ
Blackjack, Ajax
A8
Dead Man’s Hand (by analogy with Wild Bill’s aces and eights)
A3
Baskin-Robbins (plays off the number 31: 31 Flavors), Friday The 13th (An ace played low would be considered equivalent to 1)
For example, a starting hand of 8-8 might be called “wired eights” or “eights wired”
In addition, two types of hands are called “blackjack hands”:
Hands which are naturals in blackjack: any ace with any face or ten.
Hands whose numeric total is 11: 9-2, 8-3, 7-4, 6-5. (In blackjack, such hands are very good for players.)
Omaha slang
Omaha slang is not as well developed as Texas Hold’em. The game is not as widely played, and there is a much greater variety of hands, since the pocket is four cards. In the hole in Omaha hold’em:
Hand
Slang name
A-K-4-7
Assault Rifle
Flop slang
The following terms refer to the flop in Omaha hold’em and Texas hold’em:
Flop
Slang name
Three different suits
Rainbow
Three face cards
Paint (can also be used to refer to any picture card. I need to hit paint indicates somebody who is looking for a J,Q,K.)
Three low cards
Rags, Ragged flop (cards unlikely to have helped anyone)
In poker, a bad beat occurs when a hand, which was at one time a big favourite to win, loses. Typically the term is only applied in this way when the player holding the eventual winning hand misplayed it spectacularly.Alternatively, the term is also applied when a particularly strong hand loses to an even stronger one. In some casinos there is a “bad beat jackpot” awarded whenever a player suffers a particular beat.
A typical example of the first type of bad beat, in No Limit Texas hold ‘em:
Alice (the hero) holds A♦ A♣ – pocket aces, the strongest possible starting hand.
Bob (the villain) holds Q♣ 8♥ – a weak hand.
The players have the same amount of chips. Before the flop, Alice raises to 15 times the big blind, placing a fifth of her stack in the pot, and only Bob calls. The flop comes A♥ 8♠ 7♠. Although Alice has the nuts at this point, making 3 aces, she is concerned about possible draws to a straight or flush, and goes all-in with a bet that is twice the size of the pot. Bizarrely, Bob, who has only middle-pair, calls.
At this point, Bob’s chances of winning are precisely 1 in 990. [1] He can only win if both the turn card and the river card are eights. Since this is a bad beat story, the turn and river naturally bring precisely that, and Bob scoops the pot, leaving Alice cursing Bob’s appalling play – he should not have called such a big bet before the flop, nor on the flop.
Reacting to bad beats
Bad beats can be infuriating, but mathematically “Alice” actually wants “Bob” to play in this manner. Bob took a gamble that should not have worked; his odds were 989-to-1 against. It worked this time, but if he continues to play in such a careless manner, he will almost certainly lose more than he wins. He is essentially giving away his money—and if Alice is careful, it will all go to her. Thus, the more stoic poker players accept bad beats as an unpleasant but necessary drawback to a tactic that works the vast majority of the time (989 of 990 instances, in this case). Nevertheless, a bad beat is often a profound psychological blow, and can easily lead to a player going on tilt. Professional player Phil Hellmuth, among others, is notorious for his pronounced reactions to bad beats.
In online poker rooms, bad beats often lead to accusations that the random number generator is “rigged”, even though such beats occur in offline games.
Bad beat jackpot
A bad beat jackpot is a prize that is paid when a sufficiently strong hand is shown down and loses to an even stronger hand held by another player. Not all poker games offer bad beat jackpots, and those that do have specific requirements for how strong a losing hand must be to qualify for the jackpot. For example, the losing hand may be required to be four-of-a-kind or better. There may be additional requirements as well. For example, in Texas hold ‘em there is usually a requirement that both hole cards play in both the losing and winning hands. These rules vary from one cardroom to the next.
Bad beat jackpots are usually progressive, often with a small rake being taken out of each pot to fund the jackpot (in addition to the regular rake). When the jackpot is won, it is usually split among all players sitting at the table at the time of the bad beat, including players that folded their hands (usually a 25% share), with the largest shares of the jackpot going to the players holding the winning (usually 25%) and losing hand (usually 50%). Because such bad beats are rare, jackpots can grow to be quite large, sometimes reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Blackjack hands are scored by their point total. The hand with the highest total wins as long as it doesn’t exceed 21; a hand with a higher total than 21 is said to bust. Cards 2 through 10 are worth their face value, and face cards (jack, queen, king) are also worth 10. An ace’s value is 11 unless this would cause the player to bust, in which case it is worth 1. A hand in which an ace’s value is counted as 11 is called a soft hand, because it cannot be busted if the player draws another card.
The goal of each player is to beat the dealer by having the higher, unbusted hand. Note that if the player busts he loses, even if the dealer also busts. If both the player and the dealer have the same point value, it is called a “push”, and neither player nor dealer wins the hand. Each player has an independent game with the dealer, so it is possible for the dealer to lose to one player, but still beat the other players in the same round.
The minimum bet is printed on a sign on the table and varies from casino to casino, and even table to table. The most common minimum in the U.S. is $5 although these games can be difficult to find on the Strip in Las Vegas. After initial bets are placed, the dealer deals the cards, either from one or two hand-held decks of cards, known as a “pitch” game, or more commonly from a shoe containing four or more decks. The dealer gives two cards to each player, including himself. One of the dealer’s two cards is face-up so all the players can see it, and the other is face down. (The face-down card is known as the “hole card”. In European blackjack, the hole card is not actually dealt until the players all play their hands.) The cards are dealt face up from a shoe, or face down if it is a pitch game.
A two-card hand of 21 (an ace plus a ten-value card) is called a “blackjack” or a “natural”, and is an automatic winner. A player with a natural is usually paid 3:2 on his bet. In 2003 some casinos started paying only 6:5 on blackjacks – although this reduced payout has generally been restricted to single-deck games where card counting would otherwise be a more viable strategy, the move was decried by longtime blackjack players.
The play goes as follows:
If the dealer has blackjack and the player doesn’t, the player automatically loses.
If the player has blackjack and the dealer doesn’t, the player automatically wins.
If both the player and dealer have blackjack then it’s a push.
If neither side has blackjack, then each player plays out his hand, one at a time.
When all the players have finished the dealer plays his hand.
The player’s options for playing his or her hand are:
Hit: Take another card.
Stand: Take no more cards.
Double down: Double the wager, take exactly one more card, and then stand.
Split: Double the wager and have each card be the first card in a new hand. This option is available only when both cards have the same value.
Surrender: Forfeit half the bet and give up the hand. Surrender was common during the early- and mid-20th century, but is no longer offered at most casinos.
The player’s turn is over after deciding to stand, doubling down to take a single card, or busting. If the player busts, he or she loses the bet even if the dealer goes on to bust as well.
After all the players have finished making their decisions, the dealer then reveals his or her hidden hole card and plays the hand. House rules say that the dealer must hit until he or she has at least 17, regardless of what the players have. In most casinos a dealer must also hit a soft 17 (such as an ace and a 6). The felt of the table will indicate whether or not the house hits or stands on a soft 17.
If the dealer busts then all remaining players win. Bets are normally paid out at the odds of 1:1.
Some common rules variations include:
one card split aces: one card is dealt on each ace, player’s turn is over.
early surrender: player has the option to surrender before dealer checks for Blackjack.
late surrender: player has the option to surrender after dealer checks for Blackjack.
double-down restrictions: double-down allowed only on certain combinations.
dealer hits a soft seventeen (ace-six, which can play as seven or seventeen)
European No-Hole-Card Rule: the dealer receives only one card, dealt face-up, and does not receive a second card (and thus does not check for blackjack) until players have acted. This means players lose not only their original bet, but also any additional money invested from splitting and doubling down.
There are more than a few blackjack variations which can be found in the casinos, each has its own set of rules, strategies and odds. It is advised to take a look at the rules of the specific variation before playing.
Insurance
If the dealer’s upcard is an Ace, the player is offered the option of taking Insurance before the dealer checks his ‘hole card’.
The player who wishes to take Insurance can bet an amount up to half his original bet. The Insurance bet is placed separately on a special portion of the table, which usually carries the words “Insurance Pays 2:1″. The player who is taking Insurance is betting that the dealer’s ‘hole card’ is a 10-value card, i.e. a 10, a Jack, a Queen or a King. Because the dealer’s upcard is an Ace, this means that the player who takes Insurance is essentially betting that the dealer was dealt a natural, i.e. a two-card 21 (a blackjack), and this bet by the player pays off 2:1 if it wins.
Example: The player bets $10, the cards are dealt, the player’s hand is 19, and the dealer shows an Ace. The player takes Insurance by betting an additional amount of $5. The dealer checks her hole card and sees that it’s a 10-valued card. The player loses his $10 bet on his blackjack hand, but he wins the insurance bet, so the player gets 2:1 on his $5 Insurance wager and receives $10 (on top of the $5 which is returned to him). Note that the player came out even on that round (i.e. did not lose any money).
Conversely, a player may win his original bet and lose his Insurance bet. Let’s say we have the same situation as above except this time the dealer’s hole card is not a ten, but rather a seven. In this case the player instantly loses his $5 Insurance wager. (All Insurance wagers are settled as soon as the dealer turns over her ‘hole card’, before all else.) But the player wins his $10 bet. Note that the player made a net profit on that round.
Of course, a player may lose both his original bet and his Insurance bet.
Insurance is a bad bet for the player who has no direct knowledge nor estimation (e.g. through card counting) of the dealer’s ‘hole card’ because Insurance has a negative expected value for the player. Even for the player who has been dealt a natural (a two-card 21) it is unwise to take Insurance. In such a case, the dealer usually asks the player “Even money?” This means that instead of 3:2, the player with the natural accepts to be paid off at 2:2. Thus it is exactly the same thing as buying Insurance, losing the Insurance bet and getting paid 3:2 on the natural. (If the player with the natural refuses the offer of “even money”, and the dealer turns over his hole card to make a natural (a blackjack), it is a tie and the player’s bet is returned to him.)
In casinos where a hole card is dealt, a dealer who is showing a card with a value of Ace or 10 may slide the corner of his or her facedown card over a small mirror or electronic sensor on the tabletop in order to check whether he has a natural. This practice minimises the risk of inadvertently revealing the hole card, which would give the sharp-eyed player a considerable advantage.
In poker, the nut hand, or just the nuts, is the strongest hand possible in any particular situation. The term applies mostly to community card poker games to mean the individual holding that makes the strongest hand possible with the given board of community cards. By extension, the term is used more loosely to refer to any very strong hand.
For example in Texas hold ‘em, if the board is
♠ 6♠ A♣ 9♠ 5♥, a player holding ♠ 8♠ has the nuts (a
Ace-to-five low is the most common method for evaluating low hands in poker, nearly universal in U.S. casinos, especially in high-low split games.
As in all low hand games, pairs count against the player. That is, any hand with no pair defeats any hand with a pair; one pair hands defeat two pair or three-of-a-kind, etc. No-pair hands are compared starting with the highest ranking card, just as in high poker, except that the high hand loses. In ace-to-five low, straights and flushes are ignored, and aces play as the lowest card.
For example, the hand -5-4-3-2 defeats -7-6-4-3, because eight-high is lower than nine-high. The hand
-6-5-4-3 defeats both, because seven-high is lower still, even though it would be a straight if played for high. Aces are low, so -5-4-3-A defeats -5-4-3-2. Also, A-A-9-5-3 (a pair of aces) defeats
-2-5-4-3 (a pair of deuces), but both of those would lose to any no-pair hand such as K-J-8-6-4. In the rare event that hands with pairs tie, kickers are used just as in high poker (but reversed):
-3-6-4-2 defeats
-3-6-5-A.
This is called ace-to-five low because the lowest (and therefore best) possible hand is -4-3-2-A, called a wheel. The next best possible hand is
-4-3-2-A, followed by -5-3-2-A, -5-4-2-A, 6-5-4-3-A, -5-4-3-2,
-4-3-2-A,
-5-3-2-A, etc.
When speaking, low hands are referred to by their highest ranking card or cards. Any nine-high hand can be called “a nine”, and is defeated by any “eight”. Two cards are frequently used: the hand -6-5-4-2 can be called “an eight-six” and will defeat “an eight-seven” such as -7-5-4-A.
Another common notation is calling a particular low hand “smooth” or “rough.” A smooth low hand is one where the remaining cards after the highest card are themselves very low; a rough low hand is one where the remaining cards are high. For instance, -7-6-3-A would be referred to as a “rough eight,” but 8-4-3-2-A would be referred to as a “smooth eight.”
High-low split games with ace-to-five low are usually played cards speak, that is, without a declaration. Frequently a qualifer is required for low (typically 8-high or 9-high). Some hands (particularly small straights and flushes) may be both the low hand and the high hand, and are particularly powerful (or particularly dangerous if they are mediocre both ways). Winning both halves of the pot in a split-pot game is called “scooping” or “hogging” the pot. The perfect hand in such a game is called a “steel wheel”, -4-3-2-A of one suit, which plays both as perfect low and a straight flush high. Note that it is possible–though unlikely–to have this hand and still lose money. If the pot has three players, and one other player has a mixed-suit wheel, and a third has better straight flush, the higher straight flush wins the high half of the pot, and the two wheels split the low half, hence the steel wheel wins only a quarter of a three-way pot.
Ace-to-five lowball, a five-card draw variant, is often played with a joker added to the deck. The joker plays as the lowest card not already present in the hand (in other words, it is a wild card):
-5-4-Joker-A, for example, the joker plays as a
. This can cause some interesting effects for high-low split games. Let’s say that Alice has -5-4-3-2 (called a “straight six”)–a reasonably good hand for both high and low. Burt has Joker-6-5-4-3. By applying the rule for wild cards in straights, Burt’s joker plays as a
for high, giving him a seven-high straight to defeat Alice’s six-high straight. For low, the joker plays as an ace–the lowest card not in Burt’s hand–and his hand also defeats Alice for low, because his low hand is
-5-4-3-A, lower than her straight six by one notch. Jokers are very powerful in high-low split games.
Wheel
A wheel or bicycle is the poker hand -4-3-2-A, regardless of suit, which is a five-high straight, the lowest-ranking of the straights.
In ace-to-five low poker, where aces are allowed to play as low and straights and flushes do not count against a hand’s “low” status, this is the best possible hand. In high/low split games, it is both the best possible low hand and a competitive high hand.
The origin of the name “Wheel” probably derives from the Bicycle playing cards issued by the U.S. Playing Card Company.
Ace-to-six
Ace-to-six low is a method for evaluating low hands in poker. It is not as commonly used as the ace-to-five low method, but it is common among home games in the eastern United States, and also common in the United Kingdom (it is the traditional ranking of London lowball, a stud poker variant).
As in all lowball games, pairs and trips are bad: that is, any hand with no pair defeats any hand with a pair; one pair hands defeat two pair or trips, etc. No-pair hands are compared starting with the highest ranking card, just as in high poker, except that the high hand loses. In ace-to-six low, straights and flushes count for high (and are therefore bad), and aces play as the lowest card.
For example, the hand -5-4-3-2 defeats -7-6-4-3, because eight-high is lower than nine-high. The hand
-6-5-4-2 defeats both, because seven-high is lower still. The hand
-6-5-4-3 would lose, because it is a straight. Aces are low, so -5-4-3-A defeats -5-4-3-2. Also, A-A-9-5-3 (a pair of aces) defeats
-2-5-4-3 (a pair of deuces), but both of those would lose to any no-pair hand such as K-J-8-6-4. In the rare event that hands with pairs tie, kickers are used just as in high poker (but reversed):
-3-6-4-2 defeats
-3-6-5-A.
It is called ace-to-six low because the best possible hand is
-4-3-2-A, followed by -5-3-2-A, -5-4-2-A, -5-4-3-A,
-4-3-2-A,
-5-3-2-A, etc.
When speaking, low hands are referred to by their highest ranking card or cards. Any nine-high hand can be called “a nine”, and is defeated by any “eight”. Two cards are frequently used: the hand -6-5-4-2 can be called “an eight-six” and will defeat “an eight-seven” such as -7-5-4-A.
A wild card plays as whatever rank would make the lowest hand. Thus, in 6-5-Joker-2-A, the joker plays as a
, while in Joker-5-4-3-2 it would play as a
(an ace or six would make a straight).
High-low split games with ace-to-six low are usually played with a declaration.
Deuce-to-seven
Deuce-to-seven low is a method for evaluating low hands in poker. It is often called “Kansas City” low or just “low poker”. It is almost the direct opposite of standard poker: high hand loses. It is not as commonly used as the ace-to-five low method.
As in all lowball games, pairs and trips are bad: that is, any hand with no pair defeats any hand with a pair; one pair hands defeat two pair or trips, etc. No-pair hands are compared starting with the highest ranking card, just as in high poker, except that the high hand loses. In deuce-to-seven low, straights and flushes count for high (and are therefore bad). Aces are always high (and therefore bad).
For example, the hand -5-4-3-2 defeats -7-6-4-3, because eight-high is lower than nine-high. The hand
-6-5-4-2 defeats both, because seven-high is lower still. The hand
-6-5-4-3 would lose, because it is a straight. Aces are high, so Q-8-5-4-3 defeats A-8-5-4-3. In the rare event that hands with pairs tie, kickers are used just as in high poker (but reversed):
-3-6-4-2 defeats
-3-6-5-2.
A special rule is that a wheel is not considered a straight: A-5-4-3-2 is simply ace-high no pair (it would therefore lose to any king-high, but would defeat A-6-4-3-2.
It’s called deuce-to-seven low because the best possible hand is
-5-4-3-2, followed by
-6-4-3-2,
-6-5-3-2,
-6-5-4-2, -5-4-3-2, -6-4-3-2, etc.
When speaking, low hands are referred to by their highest ranking card or cards. Any nine-high hand can be called “a nine”, and is defeated by any “eight”. Two cards are frequently used: the hand -6-5-4-2 can be called “an eight-six” and will defeat “an eight-seven” such as -7-5-4-2.
Another common notation is calling a particular low hand “smooth” or “rough.” A smooth low hand is one where the remaining cards after the highest card are themselves very low; a rough low hand is one where the remaining cards are high. For instance, -7-6-4-2 would be referred to as a “rough eight,” but 8-5-4-3-2 would be referred to as a “smooth eight.”
Wild cards are rarely used in deuce-to-seven games, but if used they play as whatever rank would make the lowest hand. Thus, in
-6-Joker-3-2, the joker plays as a , while in Joker-5-4-3-2 it would play as a
(a six would make a straight, and an ace would make ace-five high).
High-low split games with deuce-to-seven low are usually played with a declaration.
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