Casino Parties and Events By: Show Biz Productions

Four of a Kind - four cards of the same rank, such as four 9's or four Aces. In Hold'em, at least one pair must appear on the board for someone to have four of kind. For example: if you are dealt two 9's, the other two 9's must appear on the board for you to have four 9's. You can also have four 9's if three 9's appear on the board and you hold the remaining 9. If two pairs are on the board, it is possible for two players to have four of a kind. In this case, the rank of the cards forming the hand determines the rank of the hand (four 9's beat four 8's). If all four 9's appear on the board, then all players have four 9's as their hand. To win the hand in this circumstance, one of your pocket cards must be higher than anyone else's pocket card and higher than the fifth card on the board. This illustrates an important concept in Hold'em - the kicker. A kicker is a pocket card that is not part of the combination but decides ties. If the fifth card on the board is higher than anyone's kicker, all players have the exactly the same hand and the pot is split.

Full House - A full house is three of one kind and two of another. For someone to have a full house, at least a pair must appear on the board. There are several card combinations that allow you to have a full house. One is to have a pair of pocket cards that match one card on the board and an unrelated pair also appears. A full house also occurs with two unmatched pocket cards when one matches a pair on the board and the other matches one of the other board cards. For example, you have a two 4's as pocket cards and the board has 10, 10, 4, J, A. (you have 4's full with 10's). Notice that in this case, you could lose to someone holding 10, A. They would have 10's full with aces. That person could lose to someone with a pair of jacks who would have jacks full with 10's. When multiple players have full houses, the person with highest three of a kind wins. The pair only comes into play when players have the same three of a kind. Given this board, a person holding A, 10 beats a player hold 10, J. Each player has 10's full, so the pairs play and the aces beat the jacks. A less common way to have a full house is when three of kind appears on the board and you hold a pair in the pocket. Again, if two or more people hold a pair in the pocket, the highest pair wins.

Flush - five cards of the same suit. In Hold'em, at least three suited cards must appear on the board for someone to have a flush. Note that since only five cards appear on the board, it is not possible for two players in the same hand to have flushes in different suits. All flushes will be of the same suit and again, the highest card wins. For example: if three hearts appear on the board, a person holding A, 2 of hearts beats someone holding K, Q of hearts. If four hearts appear on the board a person holding an A of hearts, and a 2 of a different suit beats someone holding any other pair of hearts, since only one card is needed to complete the flush and their one card is the A of hearts. Having an Ace high flush is referred to as having the nut flush. Of course, if the board showed 3, 4, 5, 6 of hearts someone holding a 2 of hearts beats someone holding an Ace since the 2 completes a straight flush.

High Card - If none of the combinations described can be formed, the high card wins at showdown. If players share the same high card, the second highest card plays and so on.

Split Pots

Suits are not ranked in poker. If two or more players have the same five card hand at showdown, the money is split between them.

Betting

A hand of Texas Hold'em has four rounds of betting. In a limit game (the most common form of Hold'em), the first two betting rounds are set at an arbitrary limit (such as $5), and the last two betting rounds are at twice the limit of the early rounds. All bets and raises must be in increments of the limit. Hold'em games are referred to by their limits. In a $5-10 limit game, the betting increments in the first two rounds are $5, and in the last two rounds $10. The flowchart on page 10 shows the four betting rounds and the possible decisions in each round.

Seeding the Pot - Before any cards are dealt, two designated players must place blind bets to seed the pot. The player selected as the small blind must bet about half the smaller limit. Then the player to the immediate left of the small blind, designated as the big blind, must bet the full amount of the smaller limit. In a typical $5-10 game, the small blind bet is $2 and the big blind bet is $5. After each hand, the blind positions shifts by one seat.

Round 1 - After the Deal - The first round of betting occurs after all players are dealt their pocket cards. Betting begins with the player to the immediate left of the big blind, who must call, meaning match the big blind bet in order to stay in the game. Betting proceeds to the left. To stay in the game, each player must call the current bet. All players, including the blinds, have the option of raising when it is their turn. Raises, which are a match and increase of the previous bet, are in increment of the big blind bet (if $5 is the blind bet, then all raises are in increments of $5). Usually, raises are capped at three: if three raises have been made, no further raising is allowed. When play reaches the small blind, that player must make up the difference between the small and big blind bets plus any raises to stay in the game. The big blind player has the option to raise (if the cap has not been reached) after all the other players have acted.