No 1 in Gambling

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EPT Berlin winner

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Five-card draw is often the first poker variant learned by most players, and is very common in home games although it is now rare in casino and tournament play. The lowball variations make more interesting games and are more commonly played in casinos. Two to eight players can play.

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half bet rule

In some casinos, the rule that placing chips equal to or greater than half the normal bet amount beyond the amount required to call constitutes a commitment to raise the normal amount. For example, in a game with a $4 fixed limit, a player facing a $4 opening bet who places $6 in the pot is deemed to have raised, and must complete his bet to $8. Compare to "full bet rule".

hammer

1. To bet and raise aggressively. Nora kept hammering, so I folded.
2. "Having the hammer" is being in last position, especially head up. You've got the hammer; I check to you.

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When facing two opponents, for any given starting hand the number of possible combinations of hands the opponents can have is

(50/2)(48/2) = 1,381,800

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Seven-card stud is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was the most popular poker variant in home games across the United States, and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Seven-card stud is also played in western American casinos, but Texas hold 'em is far more popular there. Two to eight players can play.

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Badugi shares many strategic similarities with other forms of draw poker, and many of the strategic concepts used in draw apply to badugi as well. In general, drawing on the last round against an opponent who has not drawn is considered a mistake, unless special circumstances warrant this maneuver.

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Rather than the customary rounds of betting followed by a single showdown, guts features multiple rounds, each of which consist of the decision to be "in" or "out", and each of which contains a showdown. Only the players who stay "in" participate in the showdown. In the most common version, the player who stays in with the best hand receives the current pot, while all other players who stayed in must match the pot to form the next pot. For example, if the pot is $5 and three people stay in, then one player will receive the $5 pot and two players will be forced to add $5 each to the next pot, escalating the size of the pot for the next deal. Then the hand is re-dealt, and all players (even those who were "out" in the last round) can participate again. The game ends when only a single player has the guts to stay "in", and thus the pot is taken without replenishment.

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garbage

1. The "muck".
2. A worthless hand.

going south

To sneak a portion of your chips from the table while the game is underway. Normally prohibited in public card rooms.

grinder

A player who earns a living by making small profits over a long period of consistent, conservative play.

guts, guts to open

1. A game with no opening hand requirement; that is, where the only requirement to open the betting is "guts", or courage.
2. Any of several poker variants where pots accumulate over several hands until a single player wins.

gutshot

An inside straight draw. Ted has a gutshot draw.

gypsy

To enter the pot cheaply by just calling the blind rather than raising.

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When comparing two starting hands, the head-to-head probability describes the likelihood of one hand beating the other after all of the cards have come out. Head-to-head probabilities vary slightly for each particular distinct starting hand matchup, but the approximate average probabilities, as given by Dan Harrington in Harrington on Hold'em [p.125], are summarized in the following table.

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Roll your own is poker jargon used for a particular ruleset in certain poker variants, particularly in stud poker.

In traditional stud poker games, cards are simply dealt to each player, either face up or face down according to the rules of the game being played, followed by betting. In roll your own games this is different in one of three possible ways. These are called:

• simultaneous choose-after
• in turn choose-after
• choose-before

In simultaneous choose-after in every round where an upcard is normally dealt, each player is instead dealt a downcard. All players then look at all of their downcards and choose one to turn face up, then all players turn their chosen card at once.

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Betting structures

In casino play, it is common to use a fixed limit and two blinds. The limit for the first two rounds of betting is called a small bet, while the limit for the third and fourth betting rounds is called a big bet and is generally double the small bet. The small blind is usually equal to half of a small bet, and the big blind is equal to a full small bet.

This game is also played pot-limit, half-pot-limit, and no-limit. These structures allow for more range in the amounts bet.

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family pot

A deal in which every (or almost every) seated player called the first opening bet.

fast

Aggressive play. I was afraid of too many chasers, so I played my trips fast.

feeder

In a casino setting, a second or third table playing the same game as a "main" table, and from which players move to the main game as players there leave. Also called a "must-move table."

fence-hopper

Compare to "hop the fence".

fifth street

1. The last card dealt to the board in community card games. Also "river".
2. The fifth card dealt to each player in stud poker.

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In poker, the starting hand is the initial set of cards dealt to each player before any voluntary betting takes place. For example, in Seven-card stud this is two downcards and one upcard; in Texas hold'em it is two downcards; in Five-card draw it is five cards.

The one decision made by every poker player on every deal of every game is whether to continue playing that hand after seeing that first set of cards. Since making this decision correctly will lead to the most long-run profit for a skilled player, players often put considerable study into what the appropriate starting hand "standards" are for the game being played.

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For any given starting hand, there are 50 × 49 ÷ 2 = 1,225 hands that an opponent can have before the flop. (After the flop, the number of possible hands an opponent can have is reduced by the three community cards revealed on the flop to 47 × 46 ÷ 2 = 1,081 hands.) Therefore, there are

(52/2)(50/2) / 2 = 812,175

possible head-to-head match ups in Hold 'em. (The number of total number of match ups is divided by the two ways that two hands can be distributed between two players to give the number of unique match ups.) However, since there are only 169 distinct starting hands, there are 169 × 1,225 = 207,025 distinct head-to-head match ups.^[1]

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