Tag Archives: three
Poker Jargon For Beginners – Describing The Hand You're Dealt
If you have had a look at a poker dictionary, you will realize that getting used to all that vocabulary is a matter of months or years. Reading those long, long lists is definitely the last thing you should be doing if you want to get acclimatized to the jargon.
The best way to get used to terms is to split them up according to contexts – what terms are used to describe players? How do cardsharps (what are cardsharps?) talk about hands that are good or bad? Do cards have nicknames?
Here, I’ll be telling you how to value the cards you are dealt. The ranking of a hand is decided according to two factors.
A. The type of hand. The royal flush is the highest hand, and the order of ranking is –
Royal flush Straight flush Four of a kind Full house Flush Straight Three of a kind Two pairs One pair High card
B. The ranking of cards in the hand. Aces can be ranked high or low depending on what type of poker is being played. However, the type of hand is more influential in determining the ranking than the rankings of individual cards. C. Now, we move on to the types of hands. Remember – each hand contains five cards.
Flush – Five cards belonging to the same suit, regardless of the number
Straight – five cards in consecutive order of numbering. For example, 3-4-5-6-7. The arrangement of cards in any hand does not affect its value
High card – One card of high value is present in the hand. Aces are usually the highest valued, followed by Kings, Queens, Jacks and so on.
Royal Flush – 10, J, Q, K, A all of the same suit. No suit is ranked higher than the other
Four of a kind – Four cards of the same rank, with a fifth card of different rank
Full house – Three cards of one rank, and two of another rank. A hand with three sevens and two fives, for example, will be described as “Sevens full of fives”. This will be ranked higher than “fives full of sevens”, as sevens are valued higher than fives.
Three of a kind – Any three cards in the hand have the same rank
Pair – two cards which share the same rank. There may be two such pairs in the hand, when it is called “two pair”. Pair, like any hand that depends on the rank of cards, does not depend on suit.
As you see, unless you have a Royal Flush there is absolutely no way to tell how likely it is for your hand to be a winner just by looking at your cards. This is what makes poker such an involved and interactive game of strategy – smile or frown at the wrong time, and you may end up giving the game away.
Oh, and if you didn’t know it already – a “cardsharp” is an expert card game player. That’s the first of the poker terms you will come to know.
What Is Razz Poker (Page 1 of 2)
Razz Poker is also known as 7 card stud low. Razz Poker became popular during the 2004 World Series of Poker. The object of Razz Poker is relatively simple. Whoever has the worst hand wins! Razz Poker can be one of the most frustrating poker game, however.
The Razz Poker rules are simple. Razz Poker is an ante game and every player is required to put in their ante before the cards are dealt. Once the cards have been dealt, Razz Poker plays very much like 7 Card Stud with a few important differences.
In Razz Poker, the highest up card on third street has to make the forced bring in bet to start the action. On all subsequent rounds, the lowest hand showing acts first. Should there be a tie then the first active Razz Poker player clockwise from the dealer begins the round’s action. Another difference in Razz Poker is if a player pairs his door card then there is no double bet option like there would be in standard 7 card stud.
In Razz Poker, the lowest hand wins the pot at showdown. In addition, aces count as low and flushes and straights are ignored. Thus, the best five card hand in Razz Poker is Ace,2,3,4,5. Figuring out the best low hand is easy. You start with the top card and work down. Thus, a six low beats a seven low for example. Should there be a tie on the top card, then you move to the second card.
Razz Poker starting hands are easy to remember. If you have three cards between Ace and five, you have a great starting hand. A23 is the best starting hand, but any three cards between Ace and five (no pairs of course!) is a hand to bet and raise with on third street. Three card starting hands between Ace and six are good starting hands and should be played aggressively as well, but with a little more caution if several other players with lower door cards are ramping up the action. Three cards of seven or lower is a fair starting hand that you’ll want to see 4th street with, even if you have to call a bet or two to do so. A three card eight is becoming marginal. If you can limp in or steal the antes with it, do so. Playing three card eights, however, will generally cost you chips in the long run.
Many Razz Poker players are observant when viewing the up cards and tend to have a much better idea of their relative hand strength by viewing the up cards. If you have three cards to a nine low and there are no other up cards lower than a nine, then you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you have the best hand on third street and can bet and raise, even though a “nine low” is not usually a hand that you would play. However, you should continue to keep an eye on the other Razz Poker players porches as the hand progresses. Even if you catch low cards that pair your hole cards, if the other players are catching bad high cards, you can still usually win the pot by betting aggressively.
Live and dead cards is an important aspect of 7 card stud. While in that game, you are wanting your cards to be “live”, while in Razz Poker you prefer them to be “dead.” Catching pairs can kill a great starting Razz Poker hand, so the more dead cards you see the better.