David Huber - Cardplayer Lifestyle

This action is typically performed by an Under the Gun player in a community card game. Yet some poker game rules permit ANY player to straddle before the hand while allowing unlimited subsequent straddles leading up to the hole cards being dealt.

In this article, we’ll define what straddling in poker is, outline the mechanics behind this poker action, and explain the reasons why it may — or may not — be a good fit for your favorite poker game.

Poker Straddle Explained: What is Straddling in Poker?

A poker straddle is an additional preflop bet that is performed BEFORE any face-down hole cards are dealt to the players at a poker table.

The amount of a poker straddle will usually be TWICE the amount of the Big Blind; which essentially means the “straddler” is increasing the stakes for that specific hand.

That’s all there is to it; so now when some one asks you “what is straddling in poker?” you know how to answer!

In most live card rooms and casinos, the first player with an option to straddle will be the player who will be “Under the Gun” once the hole cards are dealt, but the precise rules of how and when players can straddle may vary greatly per each poker room’s rules.

There’s also a “Button Straddle”, which is pretty self explanatory, and a “Mississippi Straddle” in which any player outside of the blinds positions can straddle.

Poker Straddle Sample Hand

6-Handed Fixed Limit Texas Hold’em Game at $5/$10 Stakes

PLAYER 1: CUTOFF
PLAYER 2: BUTTON
PLAYER 3: POSTS SMALL BLIND ($5)
PLAYER 4: POSTS BIG BLIND ($10)
PLAYER 5: UNDER THE GUN
PLAYER 6: HIJACK (UTG +1)

Before any hole cards are dealt — and assuming that straddling is allowed in this specific game — the Under the Gun PLAYER 5 places $20 into the pot.

If no other straddles are forthcoming, then the hole cards are dealt to each player.

Once a player has straddled, that player is no longer first to act during the preflop betting round. The first-to-act position for preflop action will automatically move to the next player who did not straddle before the hand.

This also means that all players will now be required to call a $20 minimum bet in order to continue participating in the hand.

If the action is folded all the way to the players who were originally designated as the blinds, they will likewise be forced to complete the minimum bet of $20 to see a flop, while any raises will increase to double the amount of the straddle (which would be $40 in this case).

PLAYER 6: FOLDS
PLAYER 1: RAISES to $40
PLAYER 2: FOLDS
PLAYER 3: FOLDS
PLAYER 4: CALLS $40
PLAYER 5: CALLS $40

PLAYER 4: CHECKS
PLAYER 5: CHECKS
PLAYER 1 BETS $20
PLAYER 4: FOLDS
PLAYER 5: FOLDS

Once a poker hand has been straddled, the minimum Small Bet and Big Bet amounts increase accordingly.

Unlimited Straddling: Throwing Caution to the Wind

As you might imagine, a poker game that allows unlimited straddling can significantly increase the stakes — to a point in which the amounts won or lost during hands far surpass the pre-published limits.

Specialty or novelty private poker games might even have wacky rules that revolve specifically around the poker straddle.

Why Many Poker Pros Love Straddling in Poker

If you’re a highly skilled player, with a proper poker bankroll, who is competing at a table that includes one or more “fish,” then including one or more poker straddle options can represent a way to significantly increase one’s hourly, monetary expectation.

Playing in a $5/$10 No Limit Texas Hold’em game against weak competition with no straddles and a 100 Big Blind cap might be profitable, but playing at a $2/4 NLHE table with loose action and multiple straddles with a 500 Big Blind maximum could be much more profitable.

The larger the actual edge that a superior poker player enjoys over inferior poker players, the more willingness you’ll encounter from a professional to allow straddling… as long as the pro in question is properly “rolled” or “backed” to play in the game.

Poker Straddling is NOT for Beginners

If you’re a beginning poker player who’s simply “learning the ropes” of how to play, you might want to shy away from straddle formats.

There are plenty of live, low stakes poker games in major casinos around that world that offer “three blind” games that equate roughly to what you’d find in a single straddle game anyway.

If you’re just starting out and want to have fun with $500-$1,000 over a prolonged session, see if you can find a $1/$2/$3 three blind with a low maximum buy-in cap for No Limit formats.

Although the rake may be relatively high in these games, you’ll at least get a chance to “weather the storm” a bit if the buy-in maximum is 50 Big Blinds or less.

Fixed Limit poker games are probably the best option for beginning poker players. And while a $3/$6 Limit Texas Hold’em might lack the “all-in shove” action that a No Limit game has, Big Bet amounts for the Turn and River in the Fixed Limit games would be only $12.

Online Poker Sites May Not Offer Straddling Options

Not all online poker rooms allow straddling to take place at the community card game tables.

One other clear benefit for beginners who play online is the ability to compete at micro-stakes — where NLHE buy-in caps can be as low as $2.00 for $0.01/$0.02.

What’s more, most online poker sites allow casual beginning players to play for free, without any monetary risk. These “play money” chips can usually be reloaded without much fuss when busting out, and no deposit is required to play free online poker in most cases.

If this is the route you want to go as a novice poker player who doesn’t want the stress of actual real money gambling, check out our guide for Instant Online Poker Platforms with No Download.

Poker Straddling: Words of Caution

As explained above, straddling in poker is a method used for raising the published stakes of any poker game.

A $5/$10 game immediately turns into a $10/$20 game with just a single straddle, or a $20/$40 game with two straddles, and so on.

If you’re properly bankrolled as a casual player to play $5/$10 Fixed Limit, then stick to games that don’t allow straddles — even if three players are forced to post a blind each hand and even if the rake is high.

Weird Card Game Rules and Responsible Gambling

There are a number of clear Responsible Gambling issues that can arise from an impromptu straddle allowance — regardless of whether you’re playing in a licensed casino/card room or in a private home game.

Remember this: while 1-800-GAMBLER and other problem gambling hotlines are typically affiliated with statewide or tribal licensing infrastructures within the United States, resources from these services are routinely consumed by players negatively impacted from non-licensed games.

Funding for these initiatives is often taken directly out of state budgets within regulated jurisdictions. However, this funding doesn’t really account for the significant percentage of professional consultation that is provided as a result of players participating in unlicensed, unregulated gambling activities.

The Land Based Consequences of Virtual, Offshore Vice Trade

In “trade speak,” this equates to offshore gambling sites receiving a verifiable freebie when operating within the U.S. They are able to pluck geographic market share from formally regulated stateside services without having to trouble themselves with social responsibility concepts.

Perhaps live games can be held accountable within corresponding state jurisdictions if/when serious issues arise, but the same cannot be said for unregulated sites that operate offshore.

Got a gambling problem that has worsened due to an offshore site’s lack of deposit limit controls or self-exclusion options?

Go gripe to your local jurisdiction about it and convince them to release more funds for problem gambling initiatives.

Need to talk immediately to a professional after losing your last $x on an offshore site? Before something bad happens?

Call a 24-hour hotline that’s locally funded and maintained by the suckers (citizenry) who — by default — subsidize offshore gaming’s total lack of regard for ring-fenced consequences associated with gambling that occur within any given U.S. jurisdiction.

Having issues cashing out your remaining funds after an unlicensed poker app goes belly-up?

Try lodging a formal complaint with local officials. The offshore regulatory structure of the company means it will likely be immune from local/state prosecution, but hey… you might still be able to sell the defunct promissory for pennies on the dollar if you keep your head down.

Straddling is Best for High Stakes and/or Celebrity Poker Games

Having now relayed my own words of caution, I’m pretty much of the opinion that poker straddles are best reserved for high stakes and/or celebrity environments. While typing this, I’m thinking of high profile games that are televised with all participating competitors made well aware of the rules for straddling before any real money action begins.

Watching high stakes straddling games online can be a lot of fun. The increased stakes and subsequent short-stack action that plays out once a hand is straddled multiple times makes for great video content on sites like YouTube and Twitch.

But again, you probably want to stay away from straddling if you’re new to poker or have a very limited bankroll.

Stick with low stakes Fixed Limit games until you’re dedicated enough to buy premium poker courses, and let the high stakes “ballers” take care of promoting the game through high profile straddles (in my opinion).

Tips for Discouraging Impromptu Straddles in Your Casual Home Game

Introducing a straddling element into a casual home game may cause it to break up or cease to exist before a single session concludes.

Below are a few ways that players can discourage (or get out of playing in) poker games that allow players to straddle.

“Ugh. I didn’t know that straddles were going to be in play. Let me go to the store right quick to check my balance and see if I can withdraw enough to play in today’s/tonight’s game.”

After communicating this, you can insist on driving away if straddling is going to be allowed for any hand.

Of course, this assumes that the game you’re playing in doesn’t allow players to compete on credit.

Suggesting that a No Limit game switch to a Fixed Limit format can be a show-stopper in and of itself. Something akin to asking players if they wish to slide down a banister of razor blades, butt-naked into a tub of rubbing alcohol.

Players might be willing to see things your way when faced with the sudden prospect of switching from NLHE to LHE in order to accommodate straddles.

Standing up and insisting on being dealt out of the next poker hand at a home game can likewise disrupt the natural flow of a session.

This can also alert the host that you might not be comfortable exceeding the published stakes via straddling.

If you’re worried about making too much of a scene, or “causing issues” among your home game buddies, who may not wish to “take the foot off the gas pedal” and switch to Limit Hold’em, you can always propose switching to mixed games, the overwhelming majority of which are played fixed limit. This forces “a lowering of the stakes” while at the same time retaining the challenging and interest elements of the game overall.

Overall Poker Straddle Awareness

Higher stakes, short-stack play, and larger bankrolls: three concepts to keep in mind when it comes to straddling in poker. Here’s a little more on straddles from Run It Once founder Phil Galfond.

Insist that any allowances for straddles be communicated in advance when competing at the live tables. That way, you can keep your options open and select another game or table if you don’t agree with the rules.

If you DO find yourself in a game in which straddles are accepted, make sure to take the higher stakes into consideration and adjust your starting hand range accordingly.

And if the action gets too stressful at any time, stand up (or sit out) until you’re comfortable rejoining the table.

Poker Hand Rankings are extremely important when playing the game we all love. Without a firm understanding of card rankings, players are left wondering which combinations will result in the best poker hands and which cards are the weakest.

If you’re completely new to the game of poker, you may want to consult a poker hands chart that’s printable and easy to read. You may also want to look at a poker hand rankings PDF file if you’re online.

In this article, we’ll explain why poker hand rankings are important, how to print out your own chart, and explore other beginner tips for playing poker.

What is a PDF?

The PDF acronym stands for Printable Document File. It was created by Adobe and can be seamlessly used within that company’s portfolio of hardware/software products.

However, the “.pdf” file is extremely versatile; meaning that it can be inserted into almost any modern-day hardware or software product and read within a wide array of third party viewers.

While the file type itself was originally released by Adobe, it is now categorized as an Open Standard – maintained by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Top 20 Texas Hold’em Starting Hands Ranked

Following is a ranked list of the Top 20 starting hands (hole cards) for Texas Hold’em games.

#1 AA #2 KK #3 QQ #4 AKs #5 JJ
#6 AQs #7 KQs #8 AJs #9 KJs #10 TT
#11 AKo #12 ATs #13 QJs #14 KTs #15 QTs
#16 JTs #17 99 #18 AQo #19 A9s #20 KQo

While the above poker hands ranking printable chart is very simple and incomplete, you’ll find options for obtaining a more robust version below.

Poker Hands Chart Printable

A poker hands chart that’s printable can save you a lot of time as a beginning poker player.

The most popular poker variant that is currently spread is Texas Hold’em. You’ll find this game at almost any card room or casino where competitive, Player versus Player (PvP) poker is offered.

Thanks to the wide range of spreadsheet programs that are freely available today via the internet, you can use software programs like Google Sheets to make your very own Poker Hands Chart that can be printed out.

The software is free to use for anyone who has a Google account, and signing-up for a Google account is also free. If you ever see an email address that ends with GMAIL dot com, then you know that it reflects the fact that the sender or recipient is using a Google account.

If you’d like a pre-made poker hands chart that ranks all Texas Hold’em hole cards (starting hands) in order, you can also find that via a quick Google search. Simply load the appropriate webpage, then save the file as a .pdf so you can easily print it out using any combination of commonly-used hardware and software.

You’ll notice that many of the Texas Hold’em starting hand charts that are used by poker training sites are square-shaped and diagonally color coded.

And while most training sites for poker are premium in nature, meaning they require a paid subscription to access, you may find that the services themselves will publish Texas Hold’em starting hand charts for free within their social media outreach on sites like Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, Discord, and others.

When to Use a Printable Poker Hand Rankings Chart

If you’re truly new to the game of poker and are playing low stakes poker games to start your card playing journey, you may be afforded an opportunity to consult a starting hands chart at any time while playing in a live setting.

Note that consulting any poker hand rankings chart while playing competitively and for real money will likely require permission from all competing players at a live table before doing so.

The best and most practical use of a poker hand rankings printable chart is when you’re away from the poker tables, for studying purposes. If you plan on playing poker routinely, then it is advisable that you memorize the starting poker hand rankings for Texas Hold’em as soon as possible.

Doing this will avoid uncomfortable scenarios in which opponents may request that you discard any printable chart before playing in a competitive game.

Poker Hand Rankings Charts for Non-Gambling Gameplay

If you and a group of friends would like to play in a casual home game without any gambling involved, there are a number of ways to do so. This will help all players become acquainted with poker hand rankings as they pertain to Texas Hold’em, or other variants like Omaha and Seven Card Stud.

If all players agree beforehand to NOT engage in any gambling (meaning that nothing of value will exchange hands as a result of actual poker gameplay), then all players can be presented with multiple learning opportunities in a legitimate “casual” environment.

You can even play your cards face-up to learn more about how poker works, the mechanics of betting rounds, and which hands outrank others at showdown.

Simply grab a rack of poker chips (or use one or more substitutes for poker chips) and deal a few hands. You can even assign values to chips or tokens in “play money” if you like.

Remember, as long as nothing of value is exchanging hands between poker players, no gambling is involved. But once a single penny (or anything else of value) is won or lost as a result of one or more poker hands, then you are technically gambling.

Unethical Use of Poker Hand Rankings Charts

Due to the proliferation of high stakes poker games as well as the constant refinement nature of competitive poker strategy, some live venues have chosen to outright prohibit the use of poker hand rankings charts altogether.

In some cases, printed literature, including charts, may grant a player an unfair advantage over opponents — which can be exploited in both a live or online venue.

While this policy may seem a bit counter-intuitive at first (after all, basic starting hand information is something that a genuine “newbie” to poker may want to initially have access to), there is sound reasoning behind such a ban.

Experienced and/or highly skilled players may use charts — that are admittedly much more complicated than basic starting hand strength charts — to consult in real time in order to arrive at a more accurate decision at a competitive poker table.

And while use of these charts may not grant the real time benefit that state-of-the-art AI poker solvers do, they can still contain a relatively large amount of information within a small physical space.

One way to think of this is to consider how much information can be “penciled-in” on one’s own fingernails, and subsequently accessed with or without magnification for viewing purposes.

Basically, any surface or physical space that can be utilized for cheating purposes on a high school math test will be large enough to provide skilled poker players with — at the very least — a partial “cheat sheet” advantage over opponents when competing for real money.

There typically IS a limit to the mathematical advantage a skilled player might achieve when being able to unethically view a robust poker chart when competing. This is because the information (usually) cannot be modified, revised, updated, altered, added to, or computed in real time without another player at a live table noticing.

However, the continued improvement of, and speed at which, poker calculation programs can perform place competitive poker games in an exceptionally vulnerable position; perhaps more so online but also when playing in person.

Poker Hand Rankings for Fun

If you’re looking to have fun with poker math and are looking for tools that will enhance your offline learning process as a beginner, you might want to try out one or more Poker Hand Calculators.

These resources will generally display “win odds” to newcomers upon digitally inserting playing cards into player positions.

For example, a Poker Hand Calculator can reveal that the absolute worst starting hand to have in a multi-way Texas Hold’em pot is 7-2 offsuit while the outright worst hand in a heads-up scenario is 3-2 offsuit.

You can even print out results from these webpages for novelty purposes if you like. Poker hand rankings are fun to toy around with when you’re offline and not competing in a poker game. Online resources make it possible to insert or remove virtual cards at the click of a mouse or tap of your smart device.

Before long, you’ll be sharing poker terms with friends and identifying starting hands by their nicknames like a pro!

Are Poker Hand Rankings Required Learning Material?

Poker hand rankings are required learning material for any poker player who wishes to compete in any meaningful way.

If you don’t understand the ranking of each playing card relative to the other 51 cards in the deck, you won’t be able to progress.

Knowing the rank of each card will allow you to develop your beginner poker player’s knowledge to a point that culminates with using your cards to make the best (or, if you’re playing Razz, the worst) possible 5-card hand combination.

Ace (HIGH) – King – Queen – Jack – Ten – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – Ace (LOW)

Suits are typically ranked as equals, meaning there is no ranking difference between Spades, Diamonds, Hearts, or Clubs.

Note that some “novelty” style poker games, like Indian Poker, may have specific rules that include ranked card suits.

Which Training Site Has The Best Printable Poker Hand Rankings?

For beginning players, the answer to this question will depend on aesthetics instead of actual content.

Do you want a printable starting hand rankings chart that’s shaped in the form of a square, or would you rather use a simple list?

Are you looking for a high-resolution image that can be printed, framed and then placed within a home gaming area as a notice poster, or a small image that will fit the height and width dimensions a business card?

Basic poker starting hand rankings can usually be found via popular training sites’ social media feeds without having to purchase a subscription.

However, if your poker knowledge has advanced past the point of recognizing basic hand rankings and the rules of the game, you might want to consider buying one or more premium poker courses to improve your strategy and win more at the tables.

Are There Poker Games That Do Not Use Traditional Poker Hand Rankings?

Games like Razz Poker will reward players who have the “worst” 5-card hand at showdowns.

Games like Stud 8 or Omaha Hi/Lo will likewise award pots to the “worst hands” — as long as the 5-card combination doesn’t include any card ranked higher than an eight.

Novelty games or Dealer’s Choice formats can assign one or more Wild Cards that will similarly disrupt traditional poker hand rankings.

In Double Draw Poker, two jokers are shuffled into every hand as wild cards: but they can only be used as Aces, Straights, or Flushes.

Consider poker hand rankings as fundamental learning material in any poker game you wish to compete in.

Have fun when playing in any poker game, and explore more advanced poker strategy concepts once you’re ready!

That’s right! From now through April 28, 2024, all funds used to buy-in to WPT Global online tournaments will go directly towards the prize pool — no fees or commissions involved!

Click here to become eligible for rake-free online tournaments. This exclusive offer applies to Multi-Table Tournaments (MTT) played on the WPT Global site from authorized jurisdictions, and will expire on Sunday, April 28th.

WPT Global Warm Up Festival

Players can win prize money and prestige while competing in the April 2024 WPT Global Warm Up Festival, which will take place between April 19th-28th.

No rake equals bigger prize pools for these online events. For example, you can enter a $100 buy-in MTT this month without any added commissions. This means that all $100 of that tournament will go directly to the prize pool.

Certain satellite qualifiers into live events or specific private tournaments may not apply. These events, if they do charge rake, will be clearly marked in the WPT Global lobby this month so players will know which tournaments are ineligible for this promotion.

No Rake is Best: WPT Global April 2024

When signing-up for a new WPT Global account, you will be entitled to enjoy rake free multi-table tournaments up until Sunday, April 28th. The registration process takes less than five minutes to complete, with a wide array of deposit and withdrawal options for players in authorized countries.

This rake-free online tournament offer is designed to assist online poker players at a time when many competitors in the space are making real money games more expensive through increased rake and other transaction fees.

About WPT Global and the World Poker Tour

Recognized as one of the premier poker brands on the planet, the World Poker Tour hosts exciting live event tours while offering the online game through their WPT Global portal.

Although the online poker site itself is not available in the United States or United Kingdom, the room is a popular virtual destination for many Latin American countries and has a prominent ex-pat representation percentage among its thousands of players. Traffic on the site has been growing steadily since its debut a couple years back, and WPT Global is now among the world leaders in global poker liquidity.

With a heavy player presence from Asia, owing to WPT Global being part of an online poker network, you’ll find cash games and tournaments running on the site at all times of day, and occasionally WPT Global ambassadors like Brad Owen and Andrew Neeme take part in the games as well, as showcased on their respective vlogs.

In terms of withdrawing your winnings, note that the WPT Global prize redemption process typically takes between 24-48 hours to complete for gift cards, while cash prize withdrawals take between 3-5 days. Online deposit options include major credit cards as well as select virtual wallet services.

Don’t miss out on your chance to obtain maximum value this month by registering for one or more rake-free poker tournaments at WPT Global. Click here to ensure that you are eligible for this exclusive promotion and best of luck at the tables!

Perhaps you’ll be become the next WPT Global tournament winner — and with no rake from now until April 28th, you’re guaranteed to receive maximum prize pool value in online WPT Global events that you enter!

The RunGood Poker Series (RGPS) heads to sunny California for an 11-day live poker tournament festival next month that will be chock-full of mixed games. Specifically, poker players will be greeted with five unique mixed game events at the Graton Resort and Casino. The four-star complex is located just off the Pacific Coast near Santa Rosa and offers a poker tournament atmosphere that is ideal for mid-stakes events.

There will well over a dozen Ring events held between May 2nd-12th at the RGPS Graton tour stop. Moreover, the No Limit Hold’em RunGood Main Event will begin on Friday, May 10th, and boasts a $500,000 guarantee with an $800 buy-in.

The full schedule also includes nightly NLHE tournaments with a low buy-in of only $135, so there will be plenty of action available in between the mixed games events that are spread out over the course of next month’s series.

2024 RGPS Graton Mixed Games Schedule

Mixed Games tournaments at the 2024 RGPS Graton tour stop will begin on Monday, May 6th, with a $500 H.O.R.S.E. event.

Starting times for all mixed game tournaments is scheduled for 2:00pm local time, and this one in particular represents a great opportunity to hone your skills and compete for a potentially large, 4-figure first place prize.

Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Seven Card Stud, and Eight or Better will all be on full display during this special event.

On Tuesday, May 7th, the mixed games fun continues with a $500 buy-in Omaha Hi/Lo ring event.

Next up will be the $500 buy-in T.O.E. event on Wednesday, May 8th. T.O.E. formats include a blend of 2-7 Triple Draw, Omaha Hi/Lo, and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo — perfect for mixed games enthusiasts seeking to get a lot of play out of the relatively low $500 tournament buy-in.

The fun continues on Thursday, May 9th, with the $500 buy-in 2-7 Triple Draw tournament, and is capped off by a $500 “Big O” event on Friday, May 10th.

RGPS Graton Mixed Games Schedule for May 2024

Championship Mixed Game Trophy Winner

There will be a tournament point tally solely for the mixed games events held next month at the Graton Resort & Casino.

The player who accumulates the most points over the course of all five mixed games events (Monday-Friday) will receive an exclusive Mixed Game Championship trophy courtesy of the Graton Casino and RunGood.

This will provide an extra incentive for mixed game poker players to compete in as many events as possible and try to etch their name into the history books while obtaining an extra keepsake to prove their mixed game prowess.

Mixed Games Focus Attracts More Casual Players

Due to the fixed limit format of most mixed game tournaments, these events tend to be extremely attractive for recreational poker players.

The atmosphere is generally more laid back during mixed game events since betting rounds are sequenced with raise limits that don’t allow for the “all-in shoves” that are typical in No Limit Hold’em games.

If you’re relatively new to live poker tournaments and are looking to get a lot of play out of one or more $500 buy-ins with an opportunity to win large four-figure top prizes, then the RGPS Mixed Game Championship will be a great fit.

Of course, those who enjoy playing No Limit Texas Hold’em can compete in daily satellite qualifiers for a coveted seat into the 2024 WSOP Main Event to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Exclusive Lodging Rates for 2024 RGPS Players

The Graton Resort & Casino offers exclusive rates for individuals who will be participating in the live tournament series during the month of May, and the Monday-Friday schedule allows for more weekend play in bigger events if you wish to extend your poker vacation.

Locals can receive an additional $25 dining credit upon booking their reservation through the official Graton Resort & Casino website using the GRRUN24 promo code.

Players will need to sign-up for a Graton Rewards account in order to take advantage of promotional lodging rates.

More About The RunGood Poker Series (RGPS)

If this will be your first time competing in a sanctioned poker tournament event, you’ll be glad to learn that the RunGood Poker Series is one of the premier live event tours in North America, and has won in the Global Poker Awards category for best Mid-Major Tour multiple times.

Aside from next month’s tour stop in the Bay Area, the RGPS hosts live poker tournament festivals throughout the country in states such as Missouri, Mississippi, Nevada, Iowa, Ohio, Florida, and Oklahoma.

Don’t miss your opportunity to compete in the five $500 buy-in mixed games events next month at the Graton Resort & Casino! Mark you calendar for early May 2024 and vie for a chance to win the Mixed Game Championship trophy!

*Image credits: Hayley Hochstetler, for 8131 Media

The 2024 WPT Voyage has officially arrived back at its starting destination, having awarded over $1.5 million in total cash prizes and crowned several new World Poker Tour title holders in the process.

Following is an event-by-event summary of the live poker tournaments that took place on Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady cruise ship between March 31st and April 6th, 2024.

2024 WPT Voyage Tournament Results

Live poker tournament action began on the evening of March 31st Eastern Time with the $2,500 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Turbo event.

Once the dust had settled, high stakes rounder Taylor von Kriegenbergh of Massachusetts had outlasted a field of 86 entries to collect a $58,319 first place prize.

The win places von Kriegenbergh even closer to achieving $5 million in career live poker tournament cash prize winning, according to The Hendon Mob.

On April 1st, the $5,000 buy-in 2024 WPT Voyage championship tournament began, which quickly filled up the sea-faring poker room.

Shortly thereafter, Kenneth Compton picked up his first-ever WPT Seniors title with a $12,379 haul upon outlasting a competitive field of nearly 200 hopefuls.

It was Joshua O’Neal who came out on top of the 2024 WPT Voyage Tag Team event. Joshua received close to $10,000 for winning the event.

Next up, on April 1st, was the 2024 WPT Voyage HORSE tournament, which attracted 30 total players who entered the $660 buy-in live event.

Jesse Hollander blazed a trail through the Mixed Game event and received $7,100 in prize money plus the exclusive trophy upon winning the tournament.

Paul Chung walked away with a $25,062 payday for his victory in the mid-week Pot Limit Omaha event that boasted a $1,100 buy-in and attracted 85 entrants.

Meanwhile, in the highly competitive 2024 WPT Voyage Ladies Event, it was award-winning poker personality, content creator, and player Caitlin Comeskey who collected $10,221 upon surviving a field of 230 opponents.

WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage is an award-winning executive within the poker world who’s has received many more accolades for his professional industry role as opposed to his poker playing skills.

However, Matt became a World Poker Tour title holder himself this past week when he won the only tournament he played in while aboard the Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady.

Poker player Duy Ho was the first place finisher in the $325 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha tournament during the cruise.

The $1,100 Mystery Bounty event was won by Mitchell Halverson, who took home the lion’s share just over $20K of the $167,000 prize pool. Notching an even bigger payday, however, was Ben Ludlow, who scored the coveted $25K Bounty prize. Ludlow also finished 5th in the event, for an additional $5K+ to further pad his bankroll.

While results of the $10K High Roller Event haven’t been made available as of press time, we spied a very happy and content-looking Dylan Linde cashing in his payslip — celebratory bottle of wine in hand — just before the ship docked back in Miami, for just over $280,000 after taking the event down.

2024 WPT Voyage Main Event and Prime Champions

Brazilian Gregory De Faria punched his ticket into this year’s WPT World Championship in Las Vegas upon winning the 2024 WPT Voyage Prime Main Event.

De Faria claimed $155,400 in cash prize winnings while giving his exuberant fan base something to cheer for all tournament long.

The most highly coveted live poker tournament prize during the cruise was awarded to high roller Aram Oganyan.

The Armenian-born poker pro who now resides in California took home $214,245 in a three-way final table deal for the 2024 WPT Voyage Main Event.

Finally, it was Las Vegas poker pro Brian Battistone who added $304,920 to his career live tournament earnings upon taking down the $25,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em high roller event.

2024 WPT Voyage Deemed a Resounding Success

Based on overall attendance and live poker tournament atmosphere, the overwhelming hope among both those preset as well as those FOMO-ing from home is that the World Poker Tour will consider hosting another WPT Voyage during the 2025 calendar year.

Special thank to Virgin Voyages and the crew of the Valiant Lady for their role in providing approximately 1,800 poker players with an unforgettable experience.

The 2024 WPT Voyage was attended by a full cadre of WPT Ambassadors, including Andrew Neeme, as well as Lynn Gilmartin, Vince Van Patten, and Tony Dunst. Also present were many other industry notables like Aceholes podcaster Nikki Limo, GGPoker’s Game of Gold cast members Olga Iermolcheva and Lukas “Robin Poker” Robinson, among many others.

Finally, a private game was also held aboard the seafaring vessel, which saw nosebleed-stakes games taking place pretty much every moment the Valiant Lady was sailing through international waters.

While we don’t know the exact results of that exclusive cash game, it’s known that Matt Berkey, Jean-Robert Bellande and Rob Yong were among the participants, that many hundreds of thousands of dollars changed hands… and that all the participants had a blast.

Poker House Rules are a part of just about any real money poker game. They serve as a list of DO’s and DONT’s for players who are competing within a hosting venue, and can be very broad depending on the game variant, stakes, and format.

Whether you’re competing in a poker game within a five-star casino or playing in a poker home game among friends, the poker house rules are important and should be followed at all times.

In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the different types of rules that can be implemented in real money poker games while also explaining why they’re used and how they may vary for each individual poker room.

Poker House Rules – Common Themes

Following are a handful of common themes that you’ll find when reading the house rules for poker at most venues.

Bad Beat and High Hand Jackpots: Do Not Collude

I put this one first because there have been multiple, high profile instances over the years in which players have been denied a Bad Beat or High Hand Poker Jackpot due to one or more players at the table not following the rules during the course of the hand in question.

The result can be excruciating (and even controversial) for all players at a Bad Beat Jackpot table, especially when all players who were dealt into the hand would have been eligible for a share of the jackpot prize.

If you are playing at a venue that offers one of these types of prizes for high hands or bad beats, then do NOT attempt to collude and/or tip-off others at the table that you are in possession of a very strong hand.

You should play the hand out as your normally would in any other competitive poker environment, and you must ALWAYS bet, raise, or re-raise the best possible hand on the river IF the poker house rules demand it.

There may also be stipulations, depending on the hosting venue, that automatically disqualify a Bad Beat Jackpot hand.

One example of this is when the community board is already showing a very high hand. Be sure to review the poker house rules for jackpot prizes, as bad beat and high hands may require players to use one or two hole cards minimum in order to complete their respective hands.

Cards That Touch the “Muck” Are Automatically Folded

If you’re a player who is concerned about cards being unintentionally turned over or folded by the dealer, then you might want to look into purchasing poker card guards.

This is because many casino and card room venues will automatically declare your hand “dead” (folded) if one or more of your hole cards physically touch the “muck” area that’s designated for discards.

Even if a dealer accidentally takes your cards and places them into the muck, your hand will still be declared as folded according to almost all poker house rules.

Voiced Betting Round Actions Are Enforceable

Another very common house rule for poker games is that any betting action that is audibly voiced by a player (such as “check,” “bet,” “raise,” “re-raise,” “fold,” and so on) is considered to be binding.

Be very careful that you don’t audibly declare that you’re making a certain betting action when playing in live, real money poker games.

The reasoning behind this rule is to disqualify players who may audibly call out an action, hoping that it will be non-binding, just to see if they can obtain one or more poker tells from an opponent once the words are said out loud.

Players Must Continue (on the River) When Holding the Best Possible Hand

I mention this rule because there have likewise been a few high profile cases that have caused controversy.

At some (but not all) poker venues, the house rules will specifically state that players are NOT allowed to “check to showdown” or “call” on the river with the best possible hand — in accordance with poker hand rankings — unless the call is being made in reaction to an all-in bet or a max-capped re-raise.

Again, the reasoning for this rule is to avoid collusion between two or more players, or to ensure that Bad Beat Jackpot or High Hands eligible for an extra prize are played out to its natural conclusion.

In this example, Player 1 has the best possible hand: a Queen-high Straight Flush — Clubs.

Many poker house rules will require Player 1 to continue betting with the best possible hand. What this means, exactly, is that Player 1 can NOT be the individual who ends the hand (being last to act) via a “check” or “call” unless the opposing player(s) are all-in with no other option than to call.

Note that Player 1 CAN opt to check or call a bet as long as Player 1 is NOT the last person to act in the hand.

Don’t Talk About Your Folded Hand While The Hand is Still in Progress

Folding a hand in poker and then subsequently talking about it — while the hand is still in progress — is very much frowned upon in any competitive game. This includes reacting to community board cards as they are dealt.

Be respectful of other players at the table who are still competing for real money in the hand.

In extreme cases, revealing (or hinting at) the hand you folded in poker can get your thrown out of a game, or barred from the venue altogether.

Restriction of Connected Mobile Devices in Live Poker Games

The advent of televised poker games has led to some high profile venues banning the use of connected mobile devices at the table.

While this poker rule may be somewhat common for streamed, televised competitive poker games, it’s not all that prevalent at your local casino or card room games.

Some players may insist on being able to have their connected mobile device at hand when playing in a real money poker game, and there’s not all that much that hosting venues can do to enforce a ban unless the poker event itself is extraordinary in nature.

Near the dawn of the handheld mobile device age, many casinos — not only in the U.S. but throughout the world — attempted to enforce rules to collect mobile phones before allowing entry to a venue.

However, as smart device use became more commonplace and more indispensable to individuals, casinos and card rooms were forced to allow customers to enter with their mobile devices or lose business.

Poker House Rules for Private Home Games

Private home games may have VERY different poker house rules compared to what you’ll find at casinos and card rooms.

Whether you’re participating in a casual, low stakes poker home game or a serious high stakes game, you might find that there are a few unwritten rules that are unique to that specific venue or home game player group.

As with casino and card rooms, the poker house rules in private home games can vary greatly from one venue to another.

Are Poker Home Games Legal?

The answer to this question depends entirely on the geographic or political jurisdiction in which the home game is taking place.

Generally speaking, you’ll want to keep any poker home game that you’re hosting at minimum stake levels to avoid foreseeable issues that might arise from such an activity.

There may also be a number of liabilities that you open yourself up to when hosting a poker home game, especially is alcohol or drugs are consumed while you’re hosting.

Mainly, the best poker home game is one that restricts the presence of firearms altogether while also banning the use of drugs and alcohol. Even if you arrange for transportation from your venue when a player is too inebriated to drive, you can still be in big trouble if that person engages in criminality after arriving at their home or hotel room.

One other thing to be on the lookout for when running and/or hosting a home game is to NEVER allow players to compete in real money games on credit. Doing so is a sure-fire way to expose yourself and other payers to non-collection. Or, in cases that you ARE able to collect, allowing players to play on credit may place you smack-dab in the middle of a civil dispute that revolves around problem gambling and intervention.

While the amount of local and state jurisdictions makes it impossible to provide a comprehensive list of precisely WHERE home games are legal/illegal, a good rule of thumb when hosting a home game is simply to keep the stakes super-low and the environment super-casual.

Uncommon Poker House Rules

There are a few uncommon poker house rules that may be implemented in extraordinary scenarios, namely when a casino or card room is allowing player-promoters to operate a high stakes private game on-site.

Usually, these games will require players to place their names on a waiting list and provide personal info before becoming eligible. In some cases, the restrictions might be fleshed-out to a point where the game host will NOT allow any player to participate in the private game regardless of that individual’s placement on a waiting list.

These private games that are hosted within major casino venues have become a point of controversy, as they tend to attract poorly-skilled “whales” who would otherwise be feeding into “reg-pro” economies.

However, most casinos are private property, and the activities that take place on a casino’s premises are usually determined and authorized exclusively by casino personnel and regulatory bodies.

Even if you’re unhappy with a private poker game being allowed at a casino, there’s not really much you can do about it since a casino usually enjoys sole discretion over what is/isn’t allowed on their property.

Making a List of Poker House Rules

If you’re thinking of participating in a poker home game (or hosting one), it might be a good idea to make a list of the house rules that will be enforced while competing at the tables.

Make sure you know the rules of popular games like Texas Hold’em and Omaha before committing any real money in a competitive environment. You definitely do NOT want to be competing for real money in any poker game that is foreign to a point that you’re not familiar with the basic rules of how to play.

If you’re playing novelty poker variants such as Stand Up Poker or Indian Poker, you’ll want to be acutely aware of any poker house rules ahead of time so that you don’t make a mistake that disqualifies your from a hand.

Note that there are also several casino-style card games that may have rules that have nothing to do with how competitive poker games are played.

Games like Double Draw Poker, Blackjack, Caribbean Stud, and others do not fall under the category of PvP (Player versus Player) activities. Instead, there is a “house edge” in these games that the casino or hosting venue will enjoy over players.

Make a list of poker house rules that are necessary to remember and always keep them in mind when competing at the tables to ensure you don’t miss out on any opportunities to win big or even collect a Bad Beat Jackpot!

A Full Boat in poker is one of the most powerful hands in terms of poker hand rankings.

Most commonly referred to as a “Full House,” a Full Boat is defined as a five-card poker hand that contains Three-of-a-Kind along with One Pair.

For example, if you have three Tens and two Nines, then you have a Full Boat: Tens over Nines. And vice-versa: if you have three Nines and two Tens, then you have a Full Boat: Nines over Tens.

But why is this hand referred to as a Full Boat (or simply a “Boat”) when playing cards?

We’ll answer that question and talk more about this unique poker hand in this article.

What’s A Boat in Poker?

As described above, a “Boat” in poker is synonymous with a “Full House” or “Full Boat” – Three-of-a-Kind plus One Pair.

The term is used exclusively for five card poker hands, and you must have a minimum total of five accessible cards for this hand to become possible.

Due to the probabilities of poker hands being made, a Boat is superior to One Pair, Two Pairs, Three-of-a-Kind, a Straight, and a Flush, as long as all 52 cards in a standard poker deck are being used.

However, some poker variants – namely short deck poker – may value a Full Boat under these other hands, but that depends entirely on how many cards are being used and which cards are automatically discarded before a hand begins.

But generally speaking, you should always think of a Full Boat being MORE valuable and higher ranked than hands like normal Straights, Flushes and Pairs along with Three of a Kind.

Why Is a Full House Called a Boat or Full Boat?

Full Boat poker jargon has more to do with physical surroundings than card designs or the actual makeup of a poker hand.

To begin with, a Full Boat is the lowest ranked hand that requires ALL five cards to be utilized in games like 5 Card Stud and 5 Card Draw.

So basically, those hands are “full” – without any room for additional cards to be inserted.

The only time you would discard any holding that makes up a Full Boat is when you can make a superior Four of a Kind hand. This is because Straight Flushes and Royal Flushes cannot be achieved (even when having seven cards to select from) if you can already make a Full House.

A Full House is often referred to as a Full Boat or Boat due to gambling venues that are situated along waterfronts: such as riverboats.

Since players who have historically competed and gambled on poker games while on a riverboat were no longer physically inside a “house,” the Full House poker term transitioned to include the word “boat.”

The jargon eventually stuck, and that’s why today you can routinely hear poker players around the world referring to a Full House as a Boat or a Full Boat.

What Does It Mean to Boat Up?

If a poker player says that he or she has “boated up,” then this means that the player has gained access to a card that completes a Full Boat or Full House.

In this example, PLAYER 2 made Two Pairs on the flop and was temporarily ahead of PLAYER 1. However, PLAYER 1 made Three of a Kind on the turn, and both players “boated up” on the river.

PLAYER 1 has a Full Boat: Kings over Queen.
PLAYER 2 has a Full Boat: Queens over Jacks.

After the flop, PLAYER 2 is in a great position over PLAYER 1 due to having a superior Full Boat hand.

However, the two aces that appear on the community board during the turn and river phases makes both players’ holdings obsolete (or “counterfeited”).

The board “boated up,” and as a result the two players will tie (chop) this hand if it goes to a showdown. This is because neither player can make a superior hand to what is already showing on the board, a Full House: Sevens over Aces.

Aces and Eights

The infamous Aces and Eights hand typically refers to Two Pair rather than a Full House.

However, the Dead Man’s Hand lingo within the poker world has extended in recent decades to include a Full Boat of AAA88 or AA888.

Nowadays, it is just as “correct” to reference an Aces over Eights (or Eights over Aces) hand as a Dead Man’s Hand as it has always been for the Two Pairs hand.

How Rare is a Full Boat Hand?

The rarity of a Full Boat hand in poker depends on which variant is being played.

If you’re competing in a Five Card Stud game, where players are not allowed to discard or draw, then the poker hand probabilities of any given player achieving a Full House are nearly 700-to-1.

The odds get much better in 5 Card Draw games, and the odds go all the way up to roughly 37-to-1 for the community card Texas Hold’em variant.

Full Boats are dominated by Four of a Kind, Straight Flush, and Royal Flush hands in traditional poker games.

However, a Full House will win over high cards, One Pair, Two Pairs, Three-of-a-Kind, Straight, and Flush hands.

This doesn’t mean that players will always covet a Full Boat hand regardless of the situation.

Let’s take a look at this sample Texas Hold’em hand and use it as an example of when a player might decide to fold a made Full House.

Let’s assume the pot was raised, then re-raised preflop by Player 2 and Player 3 respectively, and that the board cards are as follows on the river.

Player 1 “boated up” on the flop and proceeded in the hand all the way to the river. However, Player 1’s Full House failed to improve after the great flop, and the Threes over Aces Full Boat is now susceptible to being defeated at showdown by any player who holds a sole Ace or King.

It’s situations like these in which Player 1 might begrudgingly find a fold on the river when facing one or more river bets.

The best possible Full Boat hand is AAAKK, or Aces over Kings. On the flip side of that coin, the very worst Full House hand is 22233, or Twos over Threes.

What’s The Most Famous Full Boat Hand Ever Played?

There are a lot of great entries for famous Full Boat hands that have been played in the era of televised poker.

And while “fame” is something that can be argued, it’s hard to not think of the Boat over Boat hand that Mike McDermott and Teddy KGB played near the beginning of the poker-themed movie Rounders.

In the scene, Mike and Teddy are playing heads-up No Limit Texas Hold’em with Mike acting as the dealer in this particular hand while Teddy holds the button position.

Holding Ace-Nine, Mike is absolutely thrilled when he peels off a turn card that gives him a Full House.

Assuming Teddy is on a Spade Flush draw, Mike is hoping to win all of Teddy’s chips on the river if a Spade is dealt.

Right on cue, the Three of Spades is dealt on the river, and Mike is ready to pounce.

Teddy leads out with a substantial bet on the river, then Mike tells the audience:

“I want him to think that I’m pondering a call, but all I’m really thinking about is Vegas and the f—ing Mirage.”

However, Teddy calmly calls the all-in bet, and reveals that he is holding the Ace of Diamonds and the Ace of Hearts.

Teddy’s Full Boat of Aces over Nines defeats Mike’s Nines over Aces, and Mike gets stacked: realizing he is now busto.

Full Boat Confusion in Omaha Hands

Omaha poker is unique in that it gives each player four hole cards. However, players MUST use precisely two hole cards and THREE community board cards to complete their best possible five card hand at showdown.

This can be extremely confusing for new Omaha players who have played a lot of Texas Hold’em, as Hold’em doesn’t require players to use one or both hole cards at showdown.

Let’s take a look at a sample Omaha hand in which a winning Full Boat might be confusing to a Texas Hold’em player.

In Texas Hold’em, any player holding an Ace as a hole card would be guaranteed to win or chop the pot, and would be obliged to bet, raise, or re-raise on the river due to having the best possible hand: Four of a Kind: Sevens with an Ace kicker.

But this is not the case in Omaha games. Remember, players can only use a MAXIMUM of three community cards to make their best possible five card hand at showdown.

So only 3 of the Sevens that have been dealt as community cards can be used at showdown.

PLAYER 1: Full Boat — Sevens over Eights
PLAYER 2: Full Boat — Sevens over Tens

In other words, the fact that Four-of-a-Kind is showing on the community board does not mean that a Four-of-a-Kind hand is possible.

Actually the truth is quite the contrary; a Four-of-a-Kind hand is impossible in Omaha if Four-of-a-Kind is showing on the community board.

However, there are other scenarios in Omaha where you can “sail to victory” with a Full Boat hand.

In this specific situation, Player 1 has the “nuts” — which means Player 1 has the best possible hand.

Player 1’s Full House: Aces over Kings cannot be defeated by any other hand in this scenario, which means that Player 1 will be obliged to bet, raise, or re-raise on the river when facing action.

If you’re new to Omaha, it might take a little time to get used to the unique rules of the game.

But as long as you remember that exactly TWO hole cards and THREE community cards must be used to complete every single hand at showdown, you should be okay when playing Omaha.

Having Three-of-a-Kind (or worse, Four-of-a-Kind) as hole cards in Omaha means that you’ll usually be folding before any meaningful amount of money gets placed into the pot.

How to Win Big with a Full Boat

Although Mike was defeated in a key hand against Teddy at the beginning of Rounders, Mike’s reasoning was sound.

Having a Full House means you no longer have to worry about an opponent’s Straight or Flush in terms of hand strength (unless a Straight Flush or Royal Flush is possible).

Making a boat against strong Straight and Flush hands is a great way to win big with a Full House.

Indian Poker is a simple yet fun poker variant that can be enjoyed and wagered on in just about any casual card playing environment.

Known by many as “Blind Man’s Bluff,” Indian Poker gets its name from the physical similarities between actual gameplay and a Native American’s headdress — which is to say that players are required to hold their single card near the center of their respective foreheads.

This may sound complicated to individuals who have never played the game, but Indian Poker is one of the easiest poker variants to learn.

And while the entertainment value of Indian Poker might wane after a few hands, the variant — similar to Stand Up Poker — can serve as a “break in the action” during a normal home game session.

How To Play Indian Poker

To play a hand of Indian Poker, you will need between 3-8 players along with the following poker accessories:

Note that, depending on the size (area) of your poker playing surface, the ideal number of people dealt into any Indian Poker hand may be anywhere between 4-6 players.

Indian Poker Rules

The game begins a forced ante contribution from each player at the table. Then, the dealer/player deals one single card, face down, to each player who is competing in the hand.

Once the antes have been collected and placed into the pot, and once each player has received a face-down card, all players simultaneously place their single card, face-up, on their respective foreheads and hold it there using one hand.

For this game to work as intended, players should be able to actually see every other player’s card except their own. This means that it is vitally important that players do NOT see their own card in order to respect the integrity of any Indian Poker game.

Once all players are holding their single card near their forehead so all competitors can see, a betting round ensues.

This betting round typically starts with the player located to the dealer’s left and continues clockwise until the last player has a chance to act. If a player is also performing the role of dealer, then that player would be the last to act.

During the single betting round of Indian Poker, the action can be checked, bet, raised, re-raised, and/or folded similar to any Fixed Limit format.

Once all the action for the sole betting round has concluded, the players who are still in the pot reveal their cards simultaneously. The player with the highest ranking card (Ace-high,K-Q-J-T-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-low) wins.

If two or more players have the highest ranking card, then the pot is typically chopped between those players.

Indian Poker Sample Hand

The following sample hand is aimed at answering the question, “How do you play Indian Poker?”

6 Players agree to play a hand of Indian Poker. Before any cards are dealt, each player places a $0.05 chip into the pot.

All 6 players then receiving a single, face-down card which they are NOT allowed to see.

Each player, without looking at their own card, then uses one hand to hold the card “face-up” so every other player can easily view the card.

A betting round then takes place. In this sample hand, we’ll assume that the dealer is not participating in the hand, and that PLAYER 1 is first to act.

PLAYER 1: CHECK
PLAYER 2: BETS $0.10
PLAYER 3: FOLDS
PLAYER 4: CALLS $0.10
PLAYER 5: RAISES to $0.20
PLAYER 6: FOLDS
PLAYER 1: FOLDS
PLAYER 2: FOLDS
PLAYER 4: CALLS $0.20

PLAYER 4 and PLAYER 5 simultaneously remove their respective card from their foreheads and place it face up on the table.

PLAYER 4 and PLAYER 5 chop the pot. They receive $0.40 each, and the hand has now concluded.

Using Suit Rankings in Indian Poker

Usually, there are no suit ranks when playing Indian Poker. However, players can agree beforehand to enforce suit rankings at showdown.

Indian Poker suit rankings are as follows, from best to worst: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs.

If we use our sample hand as an example, then the Jack of Hearts would have outranked the Jack of Clubs, and PLAYER 5 would have been awarded the entire pot.

Using suit rankings in Indian Poker will eliminate the possibility of a chopped pot.

Rules regarding the use suit rankings should always be communicated to every player before any hand is dealt.

Indian Poker Strategy

In general, players will want to use their one-round betting option to encourage players who have high cards to fold, while making sure that one or more players who have low cards remain in the pot.

Once it become apparent that a player with an Ace (or another very high card) showing is not going to fold, all other players may choose to fold in order to cut their losses.

Remaining players may also bet aggressively is they see one or more relatively low cards still being played.

The betting action can get extremely “loose” if two or more players are deceived — through the betting actions of competing players — to fold their relatively high cards. This is because the remaining players in the pot KNOW when a high card is folded by one or more competitors.

Indian Poker Will Lose Entertainment Value after a Few Hands

While this poker variant can be very fun to play, Indian Poker is NOT something that you would schedule an entire poker session around.

It simply doesn’t have the “staying power” that other popular poker variants like Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Seven Card Stud, and Draw Games do.

It is also very possible that ALL players become overly bored with Indian Poker after just a few hands are played.

Collusion and Cheating Concerns with Indian Poker

Due to collusion and cheating possibilities linked to players attempting to unethically “see their own card” while in the process of physically moving it from the table to one’s forehead, Indian Poker is best played at low stakes in a Fixed Limit format.

As explained above, the game is best used as a one-off distraction in the middle of a poker session rather than something to plan an entire poker session around.

Michael Shackleford, a.k.a., the “Wizard of Odds”, created this handy video explaining more about how to play Indian Poker.

Another Indian Poker Sample Hand

A total of 8 players agree to play a hand of Indian Poker with suit rankings enforced.

PLAYER 1: Tc
PLAYER 2: 2h
PLAYER 3: Td
PLAYER 4: Th
PLAYER 5: Qs
PLAYER 6: 4s
PLAYER 7: Jd
PLAYER 8: As

PLAYER 1: BETS $0.25
PLAYER 2: RAISES to $0.50
PLAYER 3: CALLS $0.50
PLAYER 4: FOLDS
PLAYER 5: FOLDS
PLAYER 6: RE-RAISES to $0.75
PLAYER 7: FOLDS
PLAYER 8: FOLDS
PLAYER 1: CALLS $0.75
PLAYER 2: CALLS $0.75
PLAYER 3: CALLS $0.75

PLAYER 3 is awarded the total pot in this instance due to suit rankings, as the Ten of Diamonds outranks the Ten of Clubs.

Why Indian Poker Isn’t Spread at Most Casinos and Card Rooms

There simply isn’t enough popular demand for casinos and card rooms to justify spreading Indian Poker.

Regulatory bodies who are responsible for licensing casino activities may also balk at authorizing the game itself due to its relative susceptibility to cheating and collusion.

The game would also need to charge a hefty rake amount per hand in order to justify its existence in a casino or card room environment.

Play Indian Poker Online for Free

Although it’s highly unlikely you’ll find a “live” Indian Poker game at your local casino or card room, you can play the game online for free.

There are a number of websites and apps that appear when performing a simple Google search that will allow you to experiment with the game and learn how to play on your own time — without any monetary risk.

However, most real money online poker rooms shy away from Indian Poker since the game itself typically loses its charm after only a few hands.

You probably won’t find any Indian Poker variants within the virtual lobby of online poker sites that offer real money games.

Having Fun Rather Than Competing

Indian Poker could be a legitimate option for novice card players who want to experiment with a simple poker game in a fun environment, without any gambling involved.

If you and your friends are “itching” to play some form of poker for fun, but only have 10-20 minutes to do so, then you can probably see 3-5 hands of Indian Poker and use one or more substitutes for poker chips while playing for fun.

Once a few hands have been played, the poker “itch” will have been satisfied and each player can then go on to whatever activity is planned without fear of having some lingering desire to play more Indian Poker.

This is because the game begins to “wear thin” after a small number of hands are played. Indian Poker simply isn’t a great poker game in terms of entertainment, staying power, or betting rounds.

You only get one lone betting round in Indian Poker after the antes have been placed into the pot. Plus, you’ll want to save more popular poker variants for occasions in which players have hours (as opposed to minutes) to dedicate to competitive play.

Comparing Peer Versus Peer (PvP) to Casino “House Edge” Games

Technically speaking Indian Poker can be categorized a PvP poker game just like Texas Hold’em and other variants.

This is because players are competing against other players as opposed to a casino or card room “house” player.

If you’re looking to play casino games (also known as “pit” games), make sure that you are aware that you will be competing against a casino that has a pre-determined, monetary “edge” over all customers who are playing in a hand.

Some of the most common casino-style card games (usually referred to as “table games” when using gaming jargon) include Double Draw Poker, Blackjack, 3 Card Poker, Casino Hold’em (or Texas Hold’em Bonus), Pai Gow, Caribbean Stud, and Baccarat.

More Card Games Similar to Indian Poker

There are a number of card games that are similar to Indian Poker that you can play in a PvP competitive environment.

The Stand-Up Poker format is great for a few hands and can actually reward one of the participants with a jackpot prize.

Another poker variant that can be used casually in a low stakes environment is Pass The Trash. This game inserts a unique twist into most Draw Games in that players can discard unwanted hole cards and force their opponents to adjust upon receiving them.

Play Novel Poker Variants for Fun

One of the most important things to keep in mind when playing “novel” poker variants such as Indian Poker is that you want to prioritize “having fun” above all else.

The best way to ensure this (and to recognize when players are becoming bored with the game) is to compete for micro-stakes or no money at all.

A single real money hand of Indian Poker can be played out to its fullest extent for as little as $0.09 total (this assumes that the stakes are $0.01 Ante with $0.02 Bets and a max-cap of $0.08 per betting round.

Nine pennies will do the trick. And you might not even need all nine cents to play a single hand of $0.01 Ante/$0.02 Indian Poker!

With the first half of WPT Season XXII yet to be completed, the World Poker Tour has now released the full details of their live event schedule for the second half of 2024, including a total of eight poker series across four continents.

The second half of WPT Season XXII encompasses four main tour stops along with four festivals that will be part of the GPI award-winning Prime Tour — including a new Prime series in the United Kingdom.

If you’re a fan of live poker tournaments and want to try your luck at winning one or more seats into a branded WPT event coming near you, there will be multiple opportunities to do so via satellite qualifiers.

Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club Becomes New WPT Prime Tour Location

The Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club in Nottingham will host the United Kingdom leg of the WPT Season XXII Prime Tour.

The popular Nottingham-area card room, managed by poker fan and high roller stalwart Rob Yong, has gained a well-deserved reputation as being one of the most dedicated poker-themed venues for live cash games and events within the UK.

WPT Prime has been formally recognized as the top mid-major live poker tour by the Global Poker Index, and is the reigning recipient by the GPI in that category.

WPT Season XXII Second Half Schedule (2024)

DATE: June 20-24, 2024 (WPT main tour stop)
LOCATION: Macau, China
VENUE: Wynn Palace
MAIN EVENT BUY-IN: HK$40,000 (approximately $5,100 USD)

The second half of the WPT Season XXII schedule starts with a first-ever Main Tour stop in Macau. The location is known for its high-stakes poker action and could award seven figures USD to the eventual Main Event winner.

DATE: August 15-19, 2024 (WPT Prime)
LOCATION: Taipei, Taiwan
VENUE: Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association
MAIN EVENT BUY-IN NT$33,000 (approximately $1,000 USD)

Next up will be the first WPT Prime stop for the second half of the schedule. The CTP Club in Taipei is the largest venue for live poker tournaments in the country.

DATE: September 12-16, 2024 (WPT Prime)
LOCATION: Nottingham, United Kingdom
VENUE: Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club
MAIN EVENT BUY-IN: £1,100 (approximately $1,400 USD)

As mentioned above, the Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club will be hosting a new stop on the WPT Prime schedule. The venue itself is tailor-made for poker fans of all skill levels and routinely fills dozens of tables during live events.

DATE: September 20-25, 2024 (WPT main tour stop)
LOCATION: Gold Coast, Australia
VENUE: The Star Gold Coast
MAIN EVENT BUY-IN: AU$8,000 (approximately $5,200 USD)

The Star Gold Coast in Broadbeach, Queensland, has a casino that is open to customers 24 hours per day. The venue includes a luxurious spa and fine dining combined with a full service casino that offers 70 table games and more than 1,400 slot machines. The poker room offers weekly cash games and tournaments along with the possibility of making a jackpot hand.

DATE: September 26-30, 2024 (WPT Prime)
LOCATION: Gamprin, Liechtenstein
VENUE: Grand Casino Liechtenstein
MAIN EVENT BUY-IN: CHF$1,100 (approximately $1,200 USD)

A busy September will conclude in Liechtenstein, snuggled between the borders of Switzerland and Austria. If you have the time, the locale is filled with tourism potential thanks to its backdrop of medieval castles and picturesque landscapes.

DATE: October 22-27, 2024 (WPT Prime)
LOCATION: Paris, France
VENUE: Club Circus Paris
MAIN EVENT BUY-IN: €1,100 (approximately $1,200 USD)

Club Circus Paris will once against host a WPT Prime tour stop in one of Western Europe’s most stories cities. Take in the local area’s natural charm and compete for six-figure prize pools during the live tournament series.

DATE: November 15-19, 2024 (WPT main tour stop)
LOCATION: Jacksonville, Florida USA
VENUE: bestbet Jacksonville
MAIN EVENT BUY-IN: $5,000

The World Poker Tour heads to Florida in November with a poker room that typically offers low-stakes cash games and tournament buy-ins to its local players. The atmosphere is sure to be enhanced during the live tournament series.

DATE: November 29-December 4, 2024 (WPT main tour stop)
LOCATION: Hollywood, Florida USA
VENUE: Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood
MAIN EVENT BUY-IN: $3,500

The Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida, has a rich history of hosting live poker cash games and tournaments. Nestled along the state’s eastern border a few miles north of Miami, the Seminole Hard Rock is a massive resort complex with a full array of five-star amenities.

2024 WPT Season XXII World Championship TBA

Season XXII of the 2024 World Poker Tour will end, for the third year in a row, in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the WPT World Championship.

Details related to the WPT World Championship series, to be held at the Wynn Las Vegas, will be released soon.

Last year, Indiana native Dan Sepiol won over $5.28 million for his victory in the WPT World Championship.

Win Your Seat into a WPT Season XXII Tour Event

Live poker tour and festival stops hosted by the World Poker Tour allow players to compete for an opportunity to win a seat into a sanctioned event through satellite qualifiers.

For a relatively small buy-in, players who are victorious in these live qualifiers — which are hosted during the festivals themselves at the designated live venue — gain entry into the stipulated WPT event.

Consult the WPT and corresponding local venues for updated details on satellite tournament formats, starting times, structures, and terms.

Live satellite tournaments that award entries into WPT events are subject to change and should be verified with the local hosting venue in advance.

Double Draw Poker is a popular casino game in which achieving the best hands per traditional poker hand rankings can result in big payouts.

Similar to other jackpot-style casino card games like Caribbean Stud, players can typically win up to 500 times their original wager amount if they are lucky enough to make a jackpot hand.

There are some key differences between Double Draw Poker and Caribbean Stud, however.

In this article, we’ll explain how to play Double Draw Poker, give a general rundown of the bets that can occur while playing the game, and provide some basic strategy tips that will hopefully make your casino card game experience more fulfilling.

The Rules of Double Draw Poker

Before a hand is dealt, the player must make an Ante bet along with a Bonus bet. All bet amounts must be equal.

Once the Ante and Bonus bets have been placed, usually near the top of the betting area afforded to the player, five face-up cards are dealt.

These cards can be arranged in any way to make the best five-card hand that’s in line with poker hand strength.

However, as the name of the game suggests, players can draw up to two times per hand. The first draw opportunity occurs after the first five cards are dealt face-up to the player.

During this second betting round, the player can either decide to fold (and forfeit) the original Ante and Bonus bets or continue with the hand. If the player continues, another bet – in the same amount as the original Ante and Bonus bets – must be placed in the designated spot.

Once the first draw bet has been decided upon and placed by the player, up to three of the face-up cards can be chosen as discards.

In general, players will want to select discards based on made hands (like one pair or two pair), but this can vary depending on any possibilities to hit a huge Bonus hand that pays jackpot prizes.

Once the player has selected up to three cards to be re-drawn, the dealer removed those discards and deals a corresponding amount of new cards, face-up, to the player.

At this point, with three single bets already committed to by the player, a decision can once again be made to fold or continue with the hand. If the player folds, then all bets that have been placed so far are forfeited and the house wins.

But, if the player chooses to continue, one final bet will need to be placed. This bet must be for the same amount of the Ante, Bonus, and First Draw bets.

Once the final bet is placed, the player can choose to discard up on one card only. The discard (when applicable) will be replaced by a new face-up card provided by the dealer.

Once the Second Draw round has concluded, the hand is over and the bets on the table are either paid off for winning hands or lost for losing hands.

Sample Double Draw Poker Hand

PLAYER A placed $1 in the Ante bet circle and another $1 in the Bonus bet circle. PLAYER A has $2 total committed to the hand.

PLAYER A decides to continue with the hand, and places a $1 chip in the First Draw circle. PLAYER A now has $3 total committed to this hand.

The dealer provides three new face-up cards to replace the three cards that were discarded by PLAYER A.

PLAYER A now has Three of a Kind: Aces – which is a good enough hand to win on all bets so far. The hand is also strong enough to automatically win a final bet, as long as PLAYER A does not discard any of the aces.

PLAYER A decides to continue with the hand, and places a $1 chip in the Second Draw circle. PLAYER A now has $5 total committed to this hand.

PLAYER A decides to keep the three aces, and chooses to discard the Three of Clubs. Remember, the second draw round allows the player to discard one card only.

The dealer provides one new face-up card to replace the Three of Clubs that was discarded. By PLAYER A.

Since the hand is strong enough to be a winner, the dealer will pay out the corresponding amounts of each bet.

Since the Ante and Draw bets all pay out 1:1 for any hand that is Two Pair or better, PLAYER A receives a $1 payout for each of those bets.

However, the payouts for Bonus bets can be much larger depending on the strength of the poker hand at the end of all betting rounds.

Usually, Three of a Kind will pay 1:1 for Bonus bets. So that means that PLAYER A will also receive a 1:1 payout on the Bonus bet for the Three of a Kind.

In total, PLAYER A committed $4 to the hand. Each of the four $1 bets were paid 1:1 by the dealer, so the player wins a total of $4 for the above example.

This means that if the player began the hand with a $25 chip stack, the player now has a total of $29 in chips and can decide whether to stand up from the table or play another hand.

Double Draw Poker Strategy: The Jokers

A standard 52-card deck is used when playing Double Draw Poker. This means that there are 13 cards of each suit (spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs): 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-T-J-Q-K-A.

The ace can be used to complete A-2-3-4-5 straights as well as A-K-Q-J-T straights.

But one very unique facet of Double Draw Poker casino games is the use of the two jokers that come with the 52-card deck. So basically, there will be a total of 54 cards in the dealer’s deck before a hand begins.

One thing to note is that the two jokers are NOT wildcards in all situations. You can’t use a joker as any card in the deck.

Jokers in Double Draw Poker can only be used as Aces, or to complete a straight or flush (or straight flush or royal flush).

This makes quite a bit of difference in terms of Double Draw Poker strategy, as you CAN’T use a joker card to complete a Three of a Kind, Four of a Kind, or Full House – unless the card needed is an ace.

In this case, PLAYER B would have only One Pair: Jacks. If this is PLAYER B’s hand with one more draw round remaining, then proper Double Draw Poker strategy would require PLAYER B to discard the Jack of Clubs.

This is due to the 50:1 payout on the Bonus bet if a player makes a Royal Flush using one or more jokers. So, when placing the Second Draw bet, PLAYER B would discard the Jack of Clubs in hopes of receiving either a Ten of Hearts, Ace of Hearts, or another joker to complete a Royal Flush.

If the new card provided by the dealer after the Second Draw bet has been placed is the Th, Ah, or the other joker, then the Bonus Bet will pay handsomely.

If the new card is another heart (that’s not the Th or Ah), then the player still makes a Heart Flush and can collect 1:1 on the Ante and Draw Bets along with a 3:1 payout on the Bonus Bet.

Your hope here is obviously to hit a Royal Flush, and PLAYER B has three total outs to do so.

Double Draw Poker: Bonus Bet Payout Table

The Bonus Bet payout table in Double Draw Poker is everything in terms of house edge.

The greater the payouts on the Bonus Bet are, the smaller the edge that the house will enjoy over any player.

Here is a sample table of what a player might expect for a Double Draw Poker game in terms of Bonus Bet payouts.

Bonus Bet Payouts

Less than Two Pair: LOSE
Two Pair: Push
Three of a Kind: 1:1
Straight: 2:1
Flush: 3:1
Full House: 5:1
Four of a Kind: 20:1
Straight Flush: 50:1
Wild Royal Flush: 50:1
Natural Royal Flush (no jokers): 100:1
Five Aces: 500:1

The best possible hand in Double Draw Poker is Five of a Kind: Aces. This hand can be completed either by having all four aces plus a joker card, or three aces and both of the joker cards.

Since jokers can only be used as aces or to complete a straight or flush, the only Five of a Kind hand that’s possible is with Aces. If a player has four jacks and a joker, that hand will be graded as Four of a Kind.

Ante and Draw Bet Payouts

As explained above, the Bonus Bet payouts are where a player can quickly achieve a big win when lucky enough to make a huge hand.

Double Draw Poker Strategy: When to Fold

When the correct Double Draw Poker strategy is used, players will only be folding their starting hands about 2% of the time. A folded starting hand will result in the player losing both the Ante bet and the Bonus bet.

Basically, a player will be folding all starting hands that do not contain a single pair, “two to a straight flush” or two consecutive straight cards.

This starting hand in Double Draw Poker should immediately be folded, which means that the player will forfeit the Ante and Bonus bets, but won’t be forced to continue with the hand and make subsequent draw bets.

The player should continue with this hand since there are two consecutive straight cards present. This means that the player will be discarding the 7d-5h-2s and keeping the Qh-Jc.

If – after completing the first draw round and receiving three or fewer new cards from the dealer – the player finds it impossible to make a hand of Two Pair or better, then the player should fold. The inability to make a Two Pair or better hand should consider one new card from a potential discard.

In this example, the player has ZERO chance to make a hand of Two Pair or better IF the first Draw Round has already concluded.

Remember that the player can only discard up to one single card for the final Draw round, so the best a player could hope to do by discarding one card is to make One Pair. That won’t be good enough to collect on any bets, and this hand is a 100% loser if the first draw round has already occurred.

In the above example, the player can still get rid of a single card and have the potential of making Two Pairs or Three of a Kind.

Since card values are not important in Double Draw Poker (except for aces and royal flushes), the player can correctly choose to discard either of the non-paired cards for the final Draw round.

Example: Qh – Qc – x – 5h – 2s
Example: Qh – Qc – 7d – x – 2s
Example: Qh – Qc – 7d – 5h – x

Of course, if the player has already seen one or more of a single card value during the Single Draw betting round, then the player will want to discard that value specifically (because there will be less chance of that card pairing).

Double Draw Poker House Edge

The house edge in Double Draw Poker is entirely dependent on the Bonus Bet pay table, and any variations in how Bonus Bets are paid will impact the overall house edge.

While Double Draw Poker may seem like a casino game that has a relatively small house edge compared to other games like roulette, players should be reminded that most Double Draw Poker hands will require a total of four bets for the same denomination.

Have fun the next time you’re at a casino, and try out Double Draw Poker if you’re looking for a fun card game that allows for the use of jokers.

Poker and politics share quite a few similarities between them: from bluffing against opponents to starting all over once a hand (or campaign) concludes.

There are also plenty of concepts, methodologies, and learning opportunities that arise from participating in either activity.

In this article, we’ll dive into how poker and politics are similar as well as explore some of the key differences in the ways that poker players and politicians improve their respective crafts.

Poker and Politics: The Concept of Winning and Losing

One of the most basic similarities between poker and politics is the concept of winning versus losing. When a poker hand concludes, assuming no chopped pot, there is one player who is awarded a cumulative prize, while the rest of the players who participated in and contributed money into the pot lose something of value.

This can be compared to a political election in which two or more political hopefuls compete for a sole position. The winner is elected to the position while all other contestants do not obtain the office they were pursuing.

There can be scenarios in poker and politics in which a player or contestant goes “from hero to zero” (and vice-versa) in a very short period of time. Without singling out a specific event, be it political or during a poker game, we can make use of the past and past progressive tenses to provide examples of this occurring.

The politician was leading in the polls, but then a major gaffe on the campaign trail (or public revelation linked to that candidate’s past behavior) led to that politician falling sharply in the polls and subsequently dropping out of the race altogether.

Poker player ‘A’ was the overall chip leader going into Day 2 of the tournament. But upon losing three all-in pots, player ‘A’ was eliminated from the tournament and did not collect a prize because he/she failed to survive the bubble.

Measuring Time in Poker and Politics

Providing examples for how poker and politics are equal in terms of timing may prove to be somewhat difficult.

While we DO know that timing is crucial for both activities, there may not be a precise timing comparison between a poker session and a political campaign.

And while serious poker players are often drilled on the concept that one’s competitive play is part of a lifelong session, the same may not be true for a politician. A politician may “move on” to another endeavor if unsuccessful or transition to another personal/professional role upon retiring or failing to get reelected.

Perhaps the best measurement to use, when attempting to draw similarities between the two activities, would be one poker session and one day of campaigning… but I wouldn’t say that these two time frames equate in an exact manner.

Mechanics in Poker and Politics

Mechanics, in terms of poker strategy, can be roughly defined as one’s mathematical knowledge of the game/scenario plus that individual’s physical capacity to make use of said knowledge in a real time environment.

Laying down (folding) 3-2 offsuit in a 10-handed ring game when faced with a re-raised, preflop pot is just as “mechanical” as calling off a sole, $0.05 remaining chip from the Big Blind in a $10/$20 cash game when faced with one or more preflop “all-in” shoves.

These poker actions (and the knowledge that justifies them) are mechanical in nature; similar to the mental calculus that might play itself out within a politician’s mind when deciding whether to host a fundraiser dinner for 100 wealthy donors versus catering-in 100 meals for homeless constituents.

In the abstract, we can shift this concept of mechanics over to traditional sports — where one’s practiced, muscle-memory footwork may be just the right skill (at just the right time) to put the finishing touches on an “alley-oop” in basketball, to drive a header between the goalposts in soccer, to rob a batter of a would-be home run in baseball, etc.

A live broadcast anchor — knowing that a hard (mandatory) commercial break is coming in five seconds — may opt for a quick “teaser” statement that hints at the next segment’s content rather than delve into a full, comprehensive review of what’s been covered so far.

Poker players, politicians, on-air personalities, (and sports athletes, for that matter) acquire learned “mechanics” and techniques that can be applied in everyday situations or under extraordinary circumstances — in a way that (they hope) enables them to arrive at an outcome that is satisfactory/advantageous/successful.

Capturing Hearts & Minds in Poker and Politics

There are some similarities between poker marketing and political campaigns, especially when it comes to capturing the hearts and minds of fans and/or supporters.

Being able to influence others’ perception of reality, either directly or indirectly, can significantly alter probabilities of success and failure.

In the political realm, this concept is hopefully the result of an ability to communicate ideas in a way that doesn’t ridicule or insult others’ perception.

For poker, perhaps one example of how marketing has driven growth for certain parts of the industry would be the global poker staking marketplace.

While it’s publicly claimed that the marketplace has been underwater for more than a decade, the poker staking market still somehow manages to deliver player-friendly markups that fuel its economy while maintaining thousands of poker hopefuls in action.

The result is a somewhat begrudging acceptance of (and willingness to promote) higher markups by some — but not all — poker players and industry representatives. And the survival of such an initiative relies upon a fair amount of goodwill, positive encouragement, and lack of visceral confrontation in order to endure.

However, in some competitive activities, changing others’ perception of reality to achieve success can be an end that justifies the means of pressuring and bullying.

One example of an opponent being purposefully and strategically “bullied” might be the delayed ring entrance of then-undefeated heavyweight boxer Michael Spinks leading up to his first round knockout at the hands of Mike Tyson in June 1988.

A title bout that Tyson arguably won before the combatants left their respective locker rooms.

The Manipulation of Opponents and/or Teammates

Publishing a grid that plots the exact whereabouts of marketing initiatives on scales of morality and ethics (and advertising such a grid as “useful” in any way) might be an act that’s way too susceptible to subjectivity/personal biases.

Yet, there are examples of manipulation that persist in today’s society: both in poker and politics.

These occurrences — often referred to as mental lapses — may serve as examples of altered (manipulated) perceptions in action. In some cases, the manipulation may be triggered solely by the perceived weight of a situation; without any prompting from teammates or opponents.

So while you can’t hurl yourself into an NFL defensive lineman’s physical space before the snap (that would result in a False Start penalty). And while you can’t take the ball away from an NFL nose guard’s hands a split-second before the play begins (that would be penalized as a Neutral Zone infraction), you can actively influence (provoke) an involuntary, subconscious state based on a friend or foe’s perception of reality.

It’s the stuff social psychologists’ dreams are made of — psychological inputs that result in physiological outputs.

Now… the mechanical act of blowing hot air (physically or virtually) may result in unintended consequences if the “transmitter” possesses incomplete data, is unprepared, or hasn’t laid the appropriate groundwork required to encourage the desired output on behalf of the “receiver.”

The difference between a pitch-perfect whole note and a breathless, out of tune B-flat — performed by a second or third party — that gets tooted through a bass instrument, is analogous to having “hit the books” or “called it in” when implementing one or more measures designed to psych-out an opponent (or create an ideal environment for the enhancement of a colleague’s performance).

Decision Making Depth: The Introduction of More Variables

For the sole purpose of this article, let’s define decision making “depth” as the introduction of more variables into an equation.

With that clarified, let’s now consider a couple of commonly-used variables that might be incorporated into the decision making process for poker and politics.

In poker, knowledge of a player’s own, face-down hole cards represents an extremely important variable.

Yes, there IS a documented 2007 “novelty” instance in which Annette Obrestad won an online poker tournament without looking at her own hole cards. But knowing one’s hole cards is still considered to be vital information; data that can (and should) be inserted into any player’s decision making process when competing in real money games.

Perhaps this is why the term “blind” in poker can describe not only the forced bets before a hand begins in community card games, but also a player’s actions when making decisions at the poker table without looking at one’s own hole cards.

“Player ‘A’ went all-in blind.” This means that the player performed a poker action without looking at his/her own hole cards, or before witnessing outcomes from one or more phases during a specific poker hand.

Another common way of describing this sort of poker action is to use the prepositional phrase “in the dark.”

“Player ‘B’ checked in the dark.” This means that the player has committed to a specific action for a subsequent betting round/phase without being privy to the cards dealt (or ensuing betting activity) during that subsequent round.

Generally speaking, making a poker decision without considering any and all information that is provided via a hand’s natural progression is a bad idea. Doing so creates a provable disadvantage over the long term (although there may be circumstances in which a one-off decision of this nature provides the “transmitter” with a positive expectation).

A comparison of this poker-themed concept to the science/art of politics might be a current or aspiring lawmaker taking a public stance on (or voting for/against) a proposal without possessing any relevant knowledge on the matter.

Again, generally speaking, the act of actually reviewing the content contained within an individual proposal should — both in theory and in practice — grant a politician with a greater understanding (and corresponding ‘Yes/No’ discernment capacity) of how the proposed law(s) might impact affected parties.

But knowing one’s hole cards in poker and reviewing the literature in legislative proposals aren’t the only variables that can enhance one’s decision making depth when participating in said activities.

If you are currently a member of, or decide to subscribe to, one or more premium poker courses or poker training sites, take a moment to browse some of the instruction categories that will potentially introduce more variables into one’s strategy-based decisions.

You might see quite a bit of variable-specific coursework when subscribing to these services, including material related to individual poker variants like Texas Hold’em, broad concepts like poker tells, or distinct difficulty levels starting with low stakes poker games.