The rules for how to play Pai Gow are similar to straight poker as far as winning hands go, but game play is somewhat different.  You should first know that Pai Gow is played with 53 cards – the standard 52-card deck, plus one joker.  This makes five-of-a-kind a possibility in Pai Gow poker.  In standard poker, the highest possible hand is a Royal Flush (five cards of the same suit in sequential order from Ten to Ace); however, a five-of-a-kind will beat a Royal Flush.  Also, the next-highest hand beneath a Royal Flush is a straight flush from Ace to Five.  One of the most exciting aspects of how to play Pai Gow is the possibility of getting five-of-a-kind.

Another difference in how to play Pai Gow is that all seven cards are used to determine winnings.  In Pai Gow, the dealer plays against the other players.  To begin the game, each player puts up a stake.  Then, seven cards are dealt face-down to each player. After the deal, each player other than the dealer picks up their cards and arranges them into a five-card hand and a two-card hand.

In learning how to play Pai Gow, it is important to note that players are not allowed to discuss their cards, or touch them after the split is made.  The hand ranking for the five-card hand is as discussed previously, with five-of-a-kind being the highest hand possible.  The only possibilities for the two-card hand are Pair or High Card. When players have arranged the two hands, they must then place them face-down on the table side by side, with the highest of their two hands first (so, for example, if a player has a pair of Aces and five unmatched cards, the two-card hand would be placed to the left of the five-card hand).

When all players have arranged their hands, the dealer does the same with his.  At this point all hands are revealed and the payouts begin.  In learning how to play Pai Gow, you should understand how winnings are awarded.  Each player’s five-card hand is compared with the dealer’s five-card hand, and the same is done for the two-card hands.  If both of your hands beat the dealer’s, the payout is the amount of your stake at the beginning of the game.  If you win one hand and the dealer wins the other, you keep your stake and receive no further payout (this is called a “push”).  The dealer wins your stake if both of his hands beat both of yours.  As with most casino games, in the event of a tied hand the favor goes to the dealer.  Learning how to play Pai Gow is a great way to practice poker skills for seven-card stud games with minimal risk.  Now you know how to play Pai Gow – handle it boys!!

While Let It Ride is a single player game and has been considered as a game for smaller monetary bets, it never lacked in the excitement factor.  This is because unlike other card games wherein it is required to increase the amount of the bets, Let It Ride actually allows the player to reduce his bets when he feels like it.  The player has a lot of control in this game, thus making winning or losing much more a matter of skill.

Let It Ride is played on a blackjack-sized gaming table.  Prior to the start of the game, the player is required to make three bets in equal amounts.  After making the bets, he is given three cards that are dealt face down.  After this, two other cards (called “community cards”) will also be dealt face down at the top of the table.  The goal of the game is to create the strongest hand possible.

After the five cards have been dealt out, the player can decide whether or not to let his cards ride or if he wants to pull them out. Letting it ride means that he believes that his cards have the possibility of forming the strongest poker hand while pulling them out means removing one of his three bets from the playing table.  After the decision has been made, the dealer then turns one of the community cards up and gives the player the option to remove his second bet.  It should be noted that the second bet is not dependent on the first bet.  The second community card is turned over after this round, and with all the five cards opened the player’s win is determined.  This is done through the “Payoff” square of the betting table.

Let It Ride also has a special feature called the “Side Bet”.  Through this feature, the player can have additional winning combinations when he places bets on the “Side Bet Playoff” square.

The hand ranking in Jacks or Better is the same as standard poker, with the exception that the lowest winning hand possible is a pair of jacks or better – hence the name of the game.  The first step in learning how to play Jacks or Better is to memorize the rank of hands. A Royal Flush, which consists of sequential cards of the same suit from Ten through Ace, is the highest possible hand. In descending order from the Royal Flush, they are: Straight Flush (any five cards of the same suit in sequential order), Four of a Kind (four same-value cards, such as four 3′s or four 9′s)’ Full House (three same-value cards plus a pair of another value card), Flush (five cards in the same suit, no particular order), Straight (five cards in sequential order, non-matching suits), Three of a Kind (three same-value cards and two unmatched cards), Two Pair (any two sets of same-value cards), Pair (Jacks or better: any pair of Jacks, Queens, Kings or Aces). When you learn how to play Jacks or Better, you can play just about any other variation of poker.

If you’re just starting out at poker, learning how to play Jacks or Better is a good way to get to know the game because it’s easier to get a high hand than it is in the more common stud poker varieties.  In Jacks or Better, the game starts out with each player being dealt a face-down five-card hand.  Players then keep as many or as few cards as they believe will make a good final hand and discard the rest.  A second round is then dealt so that each player has five cards again.  One strategy for how to play jacks or better is to know which cards to keep from the initially dealt hand.  You should generally keep cards that would contribute to a good hand; for instance, a pair of jacks or better; or three same-suit or sequential cards that might add up to a flush or straight.

Once you know how to play Jacks or Better, you can move on to other forms of poker.  Jacks or Better is one of the easiest variations of poker to master, and knowing how to play Jacks or Better can help you hone your poker skills.  Good luck in the game!

The Open

The hand starts with the dealer handing each player 2 cards.  The first cards dealt are a hole card, and then the dealer follows up with an open card for each player.  Wagering then begins, usually with the high open card going first and then following clockwise.  This continues until betting is over.  These are the first two “Streets”.

Third Street

The dealer then hands out a third card, which is another open card.  This is followed by another round of betting.  Betting begins again with the highest open card opening and continues until there are no more bets made.  Then it’s time for Fourth Street.

Fourth Street

Again the dealer hands out an open card, which is then followed by another round of betting.  Betting again continues until all call, then it’s on to Fifth Street.

Fifth Street

The Fifth Street is the final card.  Usually this is an open card, but some variations play this as a hole or pocket card to make the game more interesting.  This variation creates more uncertainty about which cards your opponents’ hole cards could be and allows for more interesting betting opportunities.  Bluffs and more creative betting make this variation more interesting than four straight open cards.

Another variation is to have both the first and second cards remain hole cards, for much the same reasons as making the fifth card a hole card.  The problem with having only the first card as a hole card is that even beginning players get a feel for the odds of any particular player having a better hand than theirs, based on their open cards.  Therefore it is difficult to have an interesting hand of cards as betting tends to be rather a bit more conservative as a result.

Game Basics

The game starts with an ante bet from each player seated at the table (typically up to 6 players are seated at a table).  The antes will vary at online casinos.  Each player is dealt five cards, face up, and the dealer also receives five cards, but only one is turned face up.  Now each player can make a bet, depending on their hand.  This is referred to as the “call bet”.  The table will have a maximum you can bet.  You may also elect to surrender, in which case you lose your ante.

Once you have decided to call, the dealer turns over his cards.  The dealer has to qualify, meaning he has to hold an Ace-King combination or better.  In the case of the dealer not qualifying, you win the ante bet, but your call bet is simply returned to you.

If the dealer in fact qualifies, it becomes a simple showdown for the best hand.  If your hand wins with a pair, you get paid even money on your ante bet.  If you win with a hand better than a pair, you get paid a multiple of your call bet, based on a game payout table.  The better your hand on the rankings, the higher your payout.

Always remember that if you elected to not call, you will lose the ante.

Here is a basic payout table.  Remember these may vary from casino to casino, and the same applies online.  These payouts are multiples of your call bet.

Typical Hand Payouts

Royal Flush – 100:1

Straight Flush – 50:1

4 of a Kind – 20:1

Full House – 7:1

Flush – 5:1

Straight – 4:1

3 of a Kind – 3:1

2 Pair – 2:1

1 Pair – 1:1

If you lose against the dealer you forfeit both your bets.

Caribbean Stud Poker is a lot of fun to play, and very popular.  Be aware that the house edge on this game is around 5.22%, which is higher than blackjack but much lower than many other casino games.

Observe if your opponents are playing in a loose or tight style.  You’re goingto want to play more hands with weak players and loose players and also players known to play badly after the flop.  Definitely play fewer hands when dealing with experts.  Bluff good players and aggressive ones, but never bluff a weak, inexperienced player because they are more likely to call.

You should also always try to make good use of your position in the game.  It is an important factor, and you should try to sit to the left of loose, weak or maniacial players because you can easily control them.  When playing against tight players, do the opposite: keep them to your right if possible.  This way you and your maniac player are isolated when you raise him, and you can take better advantage of the situation.

When dealing with aggressive players the trick is to play back at them using their own weapon:  aggression.  You’re gonna have to spend more money by raising and re-raising hands you normally wouldn’t, but you will make these aggressive players a bit more passive this way.  When you have a good hand, let them make their bets and raises, and then fire back at them.  This way, you can trap them into betting more than they had meant to.

When you are dealing with passive players, they are safer to play.  They will fold and check when they have almost nothing, and they will bet only when they have a good hand, so if they bet, you can fold your cards, cards that you would’ve kept if you were dealing with an aggressive player.

Participate in more hands next to the loose players and play tight against the tight ones.  You should not bluff a loose player ever, maybe just when you have an excellent opportunity on your hands.  On the other hand, tight players are to be bluffed as often as possible, a lot more than any other type of player.

A good poker player knows that the amount of money that his opponent bets on has nothing to do with his cards and that in order to evaluate his opponents situation he must spot tells.

A good, experienced player can gather lots of information from tells.  Tells are signs that reveal information in many different ways.  Good players know how to spot them and how to use the information that is revealed for their own benefit.

Another important advantage of knowing how to pick up tells is the ability to avoid giving away your own tells.  If you know how common players reveal information by tells you can try and evaluate yourself while playing and notice what kind of tells you may be giving away.  By doing this, you can learn how to monitor your own play and avoid showing off your own tells.

There are many tells that experienced poker players can read.  They can be very idiosyncratic, so in order to know exactly how to read a player’s tell, you have to play with the specific player for a long time.  In the long run, you’ll realize that you’re familiar with your friend’s tells, and that you can read them like an open book, but if you’re playing against new opponents in all sorts of poker rooms, here are some of the things that you should look for.

The first thing you should notice are your opponent’s eyes.  If you watch professional poker tournaments, you’ll notice that many poker pros are playing with sunglasses or visors.  This is because the eyes can reveal lots of information about one’s cards.

Take a good look at your opponent’s eyes, learn how he reacts to different situations, and try to figure out how to read his tells.

You can also learn a lot from the facial expressions on your opponent’s face.  You can tell if a player is nervous or eager if he has specific facial expressions or ‘tics’, and you can look for specific smiles or concerns if the cards he holds are good or bad.

Look for certain body gestures that can hint at a specific hand.  Look for signs of anxiety or distress.  There are stimulus responses that even the most experienced players cannot hide, so try to look for those physical changes and  study how the other players respond to different situations.

Try to look for eye pupil dilations, signs of dry throat, sweat, trembling hands and flexing of muscles.  Also, be aware of changes in certain body gestures.

Another thing you should watch for is when a player makes a repetitive glance at his chips, which might indicate a subconscious reaction to different situations at the poker table.  Also, be aware of the way players stack their chips.  If you notice a different pattern of stacking, it might indicate that the player is under pressure or eager to make his move and win the hand.

There are many different tells that can indicate different reactions to situations at the poker table, but you must remember that you cannot count only on tells, and you should use other strategies if you want to be a better player.  Tells can provide valuable information, but serious players know that this is not enough for the game.

1. If you have difficulty facing pressure in daily life, do not think that playing in front of watchful eyes and a roomful of people will have no effect on you.  If you are very easily moved and influenced, I suggest you keep your money and forget about playing in a tournament at all, and this is relevant even more when talking about a live poker tournament.

2. Wear comfortable and not fashionable clothes.  This is not a fashion show: this is poker.  Thus, wear those clothes that will help you feel comfortable and at ease.  Sometimes you see women wearing tight jeans and then all through the round they keep fidgeting uncomfortably.  Any distractions can hold and will hold you back in a poker tournament – don’t let your clothes be one of them.

3. Drink only water and even then only a little so that you will not feel thirsty and also will not get the urge to go to the restroom.  Either of the two feelings are disastrous to a poker player in the midst of a hand.

4. Do not drink alcohol or even sugared soft drinks.  Sweet drinks can cause you to lose your concentration, and alcoholic drinks give a false sense of well-being and can impair your judgement; both will work against you when you play in a live game.

5. Do not sit next to the dealer.  Most poker tournaments allow you to pick your seat in the earlier rounds.  It is best to sit opposite the dealer so that you will be able to look at each and every player.

6. Go to the restroom when the break is announced, and do not hang around talking.  It’s better to tap your kidneys than it is to yap it up with the other players.

7. Watch how others are doing.  Those about to lose will opt to play only when they have strong hands; those with a large stack will be more willing to risk it.

8. This one seems obvious, but you’d be surprised how many players skip it.  LEARN THE RULES AND REGULATIONS of the particular poker tournament you have entered so as to save unnecessary losses.

Live poker games are against people, and so if you can read people well, you will have an advantage when playing in a tournament.  But do not under-estimate your opponents.  Many poker pros fall to relatively unknown players because they are over-confident.  Study the game, think wisely and calmly, and you stand a good chance of KILLING it in the tourney.

Let me show you what I mean.  Below you find four things I learned from playing poker:

1. Make the best of the cards you are dealt.  I learned when to play a hand, when to take risks, and when to throw the cards away and wait to act with better ones.  This kind of discernment helps a business owner make sound decisions about working with assets and when to cut a project loose if it’s not producing good results.  I found that when starting your own business, you will invest two assets:  your time and your money.  Depending on where you start, you’ll use one of these assets more than the other.  A realistic understanding of which asset you’re working from can help you make the most of what you’ve got.

2. You’ve got to use a strategy to win.  Good players spend years learning from each other and developing a strategy that’s right for them.  Their strategy is reliable and flexible enough to adapt to new situations.  They learn something new from each game, and they actively look for the lessons when they lose a hand.  They know how much they’re willing to bet in an evening, and they aren’t pushed off course by setbacks because their strategy takes the slow time into account.

3. While you must understand the cards you’ve got, you must watch your competition and adjust what you’re doing accordingly.  If I have a solid straight in my hand, I still need to watch my fellow players because one of them might have a straight flush.  If you only focus on your hand, you may end up broke in no time flat.  Even if you’ve got an awesome product, don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ve beaten your competition.  In business, there are always going to be people who want to move into your market.  People are actively creating new products and services, and yours could be left in the dust if you aren’t paying attention.  The difference here is that you may find that good strategies include partnering with your competitors and funding joint ventures.  Unlike poker, you both can win.

4. Risk isn’t a four-letter word.  Risk is a good thing if you have studied your competition and know you have a good hand.  The reality of business is that you will have to do some things you’ve never done before or that make you feel nervous.  This is a good thing because you become a better person once you push through your fear of taking a risk.  I used to worry about what would happen if I lost a bet.  I played to prevent losing instead of playing to win.  There’s a big difference between those things.  Playing to win means putting yourself out there, letting people know you’ve got a good product or service.  Playing so you won’t lose usually results in you losing or barely breaking even because you can’t do the very things that cause your business to sky rocket to the top.

In summary, I learned to use my assets well, implement a winning strategy, to respond to my competition, and to push past the fear of losing.  Think about other activities you’ve done over the years.  What skills did you learn?  How can you use them to build your successful business?

What about other areas of your life?

What is this?

It’s limit poker.

If this style of betting doesn’t let you protect your big hands with big raises, why would you play limit poker?  The answer comes in two words:

 Cash Games

Even though it’s the favorite style of televised poker, and even though home game poker often takes the form of tournament play, the old-fashioned cash game is still alive and well.  And at the cash game tables, limit is a popular style of betting.

Cash games have their advantages over tournament poker.  For one, if you make a bad play, or take a bad beat, you don’t lose your seat.  Instead, you can buy back into the game.

Another advantage is that for online players, ring game play is where all of your chances to rake in poker room bonus money will be.  Because on the cash game tables, the poker room takes a rake from many of the pots, they want to keep those tables busy.  One way they do that is to offer bonuses to their players and make playing at the cash game tables the easiest way to earn those bonuses.

If you are a break-even cash game player with a sizeable bankroll, you can take thousands each month in bonuses from the online poker rooms.  If you have a small bankroll, maybe you can only take a few hundred – still not bad.  At any rate, if you can play break-even poker at the cash tables, you open up some new opportunities for yourself.

While rooms are now offering no limit cash games, no limit poker in a cash game setting is for very skilled players only.  Because of the nature of the betting, it is far too easy to lose your entire night’s winnings, or worse, spend your entire night’s bankroll on a single hand.

Limit poker offers a form of insulation from both bad beats and bad plays.  While you can still bet a lot of chips by raising and re-raising in limit, each time you bet you have a chance to review the situation.  You repeatedly choose to put money into the pot.  In no limit, one decision can move a lot of chips.  One moment’s loss of focus could be disastrous.

Even though no limit is the rage that is all over the TV, don’t sleep on limit poker.  Spend a little time studying this less popular version of the game, and you can KILL it.