Poker Articles

A Cheat Sheet for First Time Casino Poker Players
By Lou Krieger

I lived on cheat sheets in high school and college. Maybe you did too. Cheat sheets, or crib notes, as they were sometimes called, were little three by five index cards crammed full of all manner of information needed for the next exam, and those of us on a quest for good grades spent days grinding the information we had written on them into our short term memory. These little study aids helped me get over. They got me into college, and into grad school too. You can use this same process to improve your poker, particularly if you are new to the game, or are about to make the jump from kitchen-table poker to the faster paced casino game.

To ease your transition, I've provided very simplified strategies for three of the most popular casino games: Texas hold'em, 7-Card Stud, Omaha eight or better high low split (which we'll mercifully abbreviate as "Omaha/8").

While these strategies will not make experts of you, you'll be able to avoid getting yourself into too much trouble. As you become more comfortable in a casino poker environment, you can leave these cheat sheets behind and develop more sophisticated and flexible tactics. Although some good books are available to help you do this, these crib notes will help you get over into this new environment.

7-Card Stud

Each player antes a token sum of money into the pot before receiving any cards. In a fixed limit game with $2 and $4 betting limits, an ante of 50 cents is typical, and betting is in increments of two dollars until the fifth card is dealt, when the betting limit increases to four dollars. The card dealt face up is called the door card. The player with the lowest ranking door card must make a token starting bet, called the bring-in, of one dollar. When two or more door cards are of the same rank, the lower card by suit brings it in. The lowest suit is clubs, followed by diamonds, hearts, and spades. This is the only time one suit outranks another in poker.

Once the bring-in bet has been made, each player, beginning with the player to the left of the bring-in, has an opportunity to do one of the following:

• Fold, and relinquish any claim to the pot
• Call the amount of the bring-in bet, by matching the amount of the bring-in's wager.
• Complete the bet to the two-dollar limit. By completing the bet it's a raise, actually your opponents won't get to see another card unless they pay full fare.

If you bet or raise and all your opponents fold, you win. If two or more players remain after the first betting round, each active player is dealt another card face up and another round of betting ensues.

On the second round of betting, the highest hand on board acts first, and may check (which is really a bet of nothing) or wager two dollars, unless there is a pair showing in any player's hand. If, for example, a player received a Queen as his door card and was dealt another Queen on the next round, any player may now bet four, as well as two dollars.

If two or more players remain after the second betting round, each player receives another card face up, and another betting round begins. On Fifth Street, however, betting increments double, and in our example they would escalate from two to four dollars. The highest-ranking hand still acts first, and may check or bet.

Sixth Street is a mirror of Fifth Street. On Seventh Street each active player is dealt a final card face down. If two or more players are still vying for the pot when the betting concludes, the hands are turned face up. At the showdown, the best five-card poker hand comprised of any five-card combination of the seven cards in a player's hand is the winner.

If you're gonna play 7-Card Stud in a casino, here's the least you need to know. Play Live Cards: If the cards needed to improve your hand belong to your opponents, they are dead to you. And seven-card-stud is a game of live cards. Just because you've been dealt Kc9c5c as your first three cards doesn't necessarily mean you should keep playing in hopes of making a flush. If only one or two cards of your suit are exposed, you can take another card and see whether it helps your hand. But if you looked around and saw three or four similarly suited cards staring at you, don't even think about it. If the cards you need happen to be in someone else's hand, there's no chance that they'll be dealt to you. But if the cards you need are still live, it doesn't mean they will be dealt to you, but at least you have a chance.

• Play Big Pairs Against Few Opponents; Play Draws Against an Army: Big pairs play better against a small coterie of opponents, while drawing hands do better against a large number of opponents because they require a relatively big field to make the pot large enough to offset the odds against making your hand.

• High Side Cards Are a Big Help to Small Pairs: Starting out with a pair of fours and a live ace for a side card is a lot better than beginning with a pair of eights and a small or medium sized side card. That's because two-pair, particularly if that two pair is aces-up is a very strong hand against one or two opponents, while eights up is marginal.

• Scare 'em Off With Scare Cards: If you've just caught the Qd on fourth street to go along with a Jd door card, your opponent will have to worry about the possibilities of you making a straight as well as a flush. If the card he caught doesn't appear to have helped him, your bet might win the pot. If he calls and you catch another diamond, or any card supporting your possible straight, a bet should be enough to force him to fold, as long as his next card does not appear to have helped him. But scare cards are a double-edged sword, and you have to be wary of the cards showing on your opponent's board too.

• Patience Is a Virtue: The first major decision point you encounter when you're playing 7-card stud occurs on the initial betting round. Be careful about the hands you choose to play. 7-card stud rewards patience above all other virtues.

• When the Betting Doubles: The second important decision is made on Fifth Street, when the betting limits usually double. If you call a bet on Fifth Street it's usually correct to continue on until the bitter end. Release any hopeless hands, but with any reasonable holding it usually pays to stick around to the river if you've called a bet on Fifth Street.

If you like numbers, here are some odds to put the game of seven-card stud in perspective.

• 424-to-1: The odds against being dealt three-of-a-kind on your first three cards.
• 5-to-1: Against being dealt any pair on you first three cards.
• 18-to-1: Against being dealt three suited cards.
• 3.5-to-1: Against improving to a straight if your first three cards are sequenced.
• 4.5-to-1: Against improving to a flush if your first three cards are suited.
• 1.2-to-1: In favor of improving to at least two pair if you start with a draw to a straight flush, such as 10c,Jc,Qc.
• 1.4-to-1: Against improving to two pair if you start with a pair in your first three cards. It's 4.1-to-1against making three-of-a-kind or better.
• 3.5-to-1: Against making a flush if you begin with three suited cards and catch a fourth suited card on the next round. If you fail to catch another suited card on Fourth Street, the odds against hitting your flush jump way up to 8.5-to-1!
• 4-to-1: Against making a full house if you hold three-of-a-kind and three other cards on Sixth Street.

Texas Hold'em

The mechanics of Texas hold'em are simple, and unlike 7-card stud, there's no need to remember which cards your opponents have discarded. All of the cards that can be seen remain in the center of the table during the play of the hand. Rather than antes, the two players to the left of a rotating dealer button post blind bets. In a game with betting increments of two and four dollars, blinds are one and two dollars.

Two cards are dealt face down to each player and a round of betting ensues. Beginning with the player to the left of the two-dollar blind, each player may fold, call that blind two-dollar bet, or raise. The player who posted the one-dollar blind bet has an option to fold, call, or raise, and the player who posted the two-dollar blind even has an opportunity to raise his own blind bet if he so desires. In most casino games, a bet and either three or four raises per betting round are permitted. Once the first round of betting is complete, three community cards, called "the flop" to be used by all players in conjunction with their private cards are dealt face-up in the center of the table. There's another round of betting, followed by a fourth community card. After the next round of betting ensues, a fifth and final community card is dealt face up. Following a final round of betting, a showdown occurs if two or more players are still active. The best five-card poker hand comprised of any combination of private and communal cards wins the pot. Betting limits usually double on the third and fourth round.

When you play Texas hold'em in a casino, here is the least you need to know.

• Play Strong Starting Hands: That's a major key to success in hold'em. Because betting position is fixed for the entire hand, and acting late carries a significant advantage, you might raise in late position with hands you'd throw away if you had to play them before most of your opponents were forced to act.

• All Else Equal, Suited Cards Are Better: Because of their flush-making possibilities, suited hands are more valuable than unsuited hands of the same rank. Raise before the flop with any pair of Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks, and Tens. If someone has already raised and you're holding a pair of Aces, Kings, or Queens in your hand, go ahead and reraise. Reraising protects your hand by thinning the field, which minimizes the chances of anyone getting lucky on the flop.

• Play Big Pairs: Any pair of tens or higher are excellent starting hands. Bet or raise to reduce the number of opponents you are playing against. Big pairs play better against a small field, while straight and flush draws play better against an army of opponents.

• Small and Medium Pairs Usually Have to Improve to win: A big pair, like queens, kings, or aces, can often win without any improvement at all, particularly if a card bigger than your pocket pair does not appear among the common cards in the center of the table. But smaller pairs, such as sevens or sixes, must usually improve to win, and the odds are 7.5-to-1 against catching a third card that matches your pair on the flop.

• Unsuited High Cards, Sometimes Yes, Sometimes No: A hand like K-J, though not a great hand, can usually played if no one has yet raised, but it should probably be thrown away if you're forced to cold-call two bets in order to see the flop. Of course, if you've called one bet and a player who acts after you raises, you should call and decide what to do after you've seen the flop. Don't be afraid to call a raise with A-K or A-Q, and raise with these hands when you can.

• Don't Fall In Love With Suited Connectors: While suited connectors, like 9s8s, which offer the possibility of making a straight or a flush, are good hands to play from late position when a lot of players are already in the pot, they do not fare well against a small field and shouldn't be played if you have to cold-call a raise in order to enter the pot.

• When To Raise: You can also raise before the flop if you're holding a suited Ace with a King, Queen, or Jack, or a suited King with a Queen. If your cards are unsuited, you can raise when holding an Ace with a King or Queen, or a King with a Queen. If you are in late position, and no one else has entered the pot, you can raise with any pair at all, as well as with an Ace and any kicker, and a King with a Queen, Jack, ten, or nine. You're hoping the blinds will fold, but even if they play, your Ace or King is likely to be the best hand if no one improves.

• Fit or Fold: Seventy-one percent of your hand will be defined on the flop. For that reason, hold'em is a "fit-or-fold" game. If the flop does not improve your hand, or provide four cards to a flush or a straight, you should probably abandon your hand.

• Playing On the Turn: On the turn, you should bet if you believe you have the best hand, or if you believe there's a chance your bet will cause your opponents to fold. You can consider checking with the intention of raising if you have a very strong hand and feel assured that one of your opponents will bet after you check.

• Playing On the River: If you're still contesting the pot while awaiting that river card, you should have a strong hand, or a draw to what you believe will be the best hand if you make it. If you can't decide whether to call an opponent's bet on the river, it's better to err by calling because a mistake in judgment costs only one additional bet, while folding a winning hand costs the entire pot. I'm not advising that you call all of the time, but if you have a decent hand and someone bets into you on the last betting round, you should consider calling. On the other hand, if you were nursing a straight- or flush-draw that never materialized, throw your hand away if someone bets.

Omaha/8

Omaha/8 is a variation of Texas hold'em in which each player receives four private cards, and the best high hand and the best low hand split the pot. The mechanics of the blinds, and the deal, and the betting rounds are the same as they are for Texas hold'em, but the game's strategies are quite different.

Although Omaha/8 resembles Texas hold'em, you'll find two major differences:

• Because it is a split-pot game, you can expect to find more players in each pot. With four cards to choose from, many players don't have any trouble finding a hand they think is worth playing.
• Each player must use exactly two cards from his hand along with three communal cards. In Texas hold'em, you can form the best hand using two, one, or even none of your private cards, but in Omaha you must play two cards no more, no less to make a valid Omaha hand.

When you play Omaha/8 in a casino, here is the least you need to know.

• Each Starting Hand Is Like Six Hands In One: With four cards to work with, you can form six different starting combinations. In other words, you have six times as many potential starting hands as you do as you do in hold'em. As a result, winning hands tend to be quite a bit bigger than they are in Texas hold'em.

• Play Coordinated Low Hands: A hand containing an ace-deuce, and particularly an ace, deuce, trey is a good starting hand, although if three high cards flop, it should usually be abandoned.

• Play Coordinated High Hands: A hand like A-K-Q-J is an excellent starting hand, although anytime the board contains three low cards, you have probably lost half of your equity in the pot because one of your opponents will probably make a low hand.

• Avoid Mid Range Holdings: With a few rare exceptions, it's hard to make the best possible hand with medium range cards, and even when you do, one of your opponents will probably make a low hand and cut your win in half.

• Winning Half the Pot is Nice, but Scooping Is the Name of the Game: While it's nice to win a share of the pot, it's much nicer to win it all. You can do this by holding a high hand when there is no low possible, or by making a low hand along with a high hand. A player can also make a high and a low hand using different cards from his hand to construct the two hands. For example, if your private cards are Ah2d3sKh and the five communal cards are Qh9h7h6s4c, your AhKh will form a flush. You'd have a low hand too, created by combining your ace and deuce with the board's 7-6-4. Omaha/8's prime directive is to play hands that have a chance of scooping the entire pot.

• Two Pair Seldom Win: Straights and flushes are common in Omaha, and two-pair, which is often a winning hand in Texas hold'em, seldom wins in this game.

• Low Hands Diminish the Value of High Hands: Regardless of how powerful a high hand you make, whenever three unpaired communal cards with a rank of eight or lower are on the board, someone probably made a low hand and that big pot you were hoping to win has effectively been chopped in half.

• Hand Selection Is Critical: Every form of poker requires a blend of skills. But in Omaha/8, hand selection far outweighs other skills. Some Omaha/8 players start with almost any four cards, and if you have the discipline to wait for good starting cards hands that are coordinated, with cards that support each other in some discernable way you'll have an edge over most of your opponents.

Beyond the flop

As a general rule, you shouldn't continue beyond the flop without best possible hand, called "the nuts," or a draw to the nuts in one or both directions. With six two-card combinations in each player's hand, a lot of hands are possible, so make certain that you'll have the best hand if you catch the card you need. Here's an example. Suppose the flop is K-8-7 of mixed suits, and you hold 3-2 among your four cards. If 6, 5, or 4 hits the board, you'll make a low hand but anyone who holds an ace-deuce will make a better one.

If you like numbers, here are some odds that relate to making a low hand in Omaha/8.If you begin with four different low cards:

• Your chances before the flop are 49%
• Your chances if two new low cards flop are 70%
• Your chances if one new low card flops are 24%

If you begin with three different low cards:

• Your chances before the flop are 40%
• Your chances if two new low cards flop are 72%
• Your chances if one new low card flops are 26%

If you begin with two different low cards:

• Your chances before the flop are 24%
• Your chances if two new low cards flop are 59%
• Your chances if one new low card flops are 16%

If you've survived the flop, keep playing if you have flopped the best high hand, a draw to the best high hand, the best low hand, or a draw to the best low hand.

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