playing poker

Playing poker
Winning online poker hands
Specified lists

Picking a Game of Poker

The Tyranny of Dealer's Choice "Dealer's choice," in which the dealer calls whatever game he likes along with any additional rules that occur to him, is a hallmark of kiddie poker. This system has three big inherent drawbacks. The most obvious is that the dealer may be a miscreant who cannot be prudently entrusted with the responsibility of handling glassware, let alone defining the rules of a card game with real money in play. The second is that changing games that frequently is a developmental obstacle. Learning to play poker when you change the game every hand is like trying to learn to play the guitar with a different tuning every five minutes.

The third and most significant is fairness. If every game were an open card game like Stud, in which everyone antes and the start of the betting is determined by the cards showing, there wouldn't be an issue. In other games, however, the betting always begins to the dealer's left, with certain players forced to post blinds. That would make it impossible to play Texas Hold'em or Omaha equitably using pure dealer's choice, since the dealer could choose to give himself the privilege of acting last and to always place the burden of blinds on other players.

Rotation Instead of Dealer's Choice The third and most significant is fairness. If every game were an open card game like real poker games, with kiddie games and rules strictly forbidden. That player deals the game first, and afterward, it goes around the table with each player dealing the same game once. Inherent positional advantages are thus nullified. When every player has dealt that game, the next player in line to choose the game does so, and the process repeats. Placing some kind of marker, such as a high-value chip color that you aren't using, can identify the original caller of the game. You can even buy plastic "pucks" that have "Dealer" or the names of common games printed on them for this very purpose. (However, any players in your group who are accustomed to casino play will prefer that a "Dealer" puck be placed in front of the current actual dealer, to mark where the betting begins. My group uses a "Dealer" puck to mark the actual dealer and a black chip to mark the player who called the game.)

Rotation has some of the benefit of choosing one game because players can get used to a particular game for at least a few hands before it changes. If you want to decrease the frequency of rule changes further, you can have the game go around the table two or three times before calling the next game. Rotation also allows you to play Stud with a dealer ante, which is significantly faster and easier than with players' antes.

Other Options You can also play by forced rotation, whereby the games that go around the table change according to a fixed sequence. For example, you could play Texas Hold'em once around the table, then Omaha, then Stud, and then repeat the cycle. This method saves a little effort because you don't have to keep track of whose turn it is to call the next game.

Finally, you can skip the rotation drill altogether and just agree to play one game for a certain period of time or all night, if you prefer. Hour-long sessions will give players a chance to concentrate on individual games and still allow for plenty of variety during the evening.

	playing poker

Playing poker Winning online poker hands Specified lists	Picking a Game of Poker The Tyranny of Dealer's Choice "Dealer's choice," in which the dealer calls whatever game he likes along with any additional rules that occur to him, is a hallmark of kiddie poker. This system has three big inherent drawbacks. The most obvious is that the dealer may be a miscreant who cannot be prudently entrusted with the responsibility of handling glassware, let alone defining the rules of a card game with real money in play. The second is that changing games that frequently is a developmental obstacle. Learning to play poker when you change the game every hand is like trying to learn to play the guitar with a different tuning every five minutes. The third and most significant is fairness. If every game were an open card game like Stud, in which everyone antes and the start of the betting is determined by the cards showing, there wouldn't be an issue. In other games, however, the betting always begins to the dealer's left, with certain players forced to post blinds. That would make it impossible to play Texas Hold'em or Omaha equitably using pure dealer's choice, since the dealer could choose to give himself the privilege of acting last and to always place the burden of blinds on other players. Rotation Instead of Dealer's Choice The third and most significant is fairness. If every game were an open card game like real poker games, with kiddie games and rules strictly forbidden. That player deals the game first, and afterward, it goes around the table with each player dealing the same game once. Inherent positional advantages are thus nullified. When every player has dealt that game, the next player in line to choose the game does so, and the process repeats. Placing some kind of marker, such as a high-value chip color that you aren't using, can identify the original caller of the game. You can even buy plastic "pucks" that have "Dealer" or the names of common games printed on them for this very purpose. (However, any players in your group who are accustomed to casino play will prefer that a "Dealer" puck be placed in front of the current actual dealer, to mark where the betting begins. My group uses a "Dealer" puck to mark the actual dealer and a black chip to mark the player who called the game.) Rotation has some of the benefit of choosing one game because players can get used to a particular game for at least a few hands before it changes. If you want to decrease the frequency of rule changes further, you can have the game go around the table two or three times before calling the next game. Rotation also allows you to play Stud with a dealer ante, which is significantly faster and easier than with players' antes. Other Options You can also play by forced rotation, whereby the games that go around the table change according to a fixed sequence. For example, you could play Texas Hold'em once around the table, then Omaha, then Stud, and then repeat the cycle. This method saves a little effort because you don't have to keep track of whose turn it is to call the next game. Finally, you can skip the rotation drill altogether and just agree to play one game for a certain period of time or all night, if you prefer. Hour-long sessions will give players a chance to concentrate on individual games and still allow for plenty of variety during the evening.