Texas hold 'em can be played with as few as two and as many as twenty-two players. People generally look for tables with ten players, and many Las Vegas poker rooms even play eleven-handed. I believe that the best number of players to have at the table is seven or eight; I'll explain why in a later chapter.

High Hand Wins
Hold 'em is played for high hand only. The standard high hand always wins. There are no wild cards. Remember, the final poker hand is made up of exactly five cards.

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Texas hold 'em is played for a wide variety of limits. What all of these limits have in common is that they adhere to the same betting structure, which is a 1:2 betting ratio. The bets before the flop and on the flop will be exactly one small bet (the lower betting tier), and the bets on the turn and river will be exactly one big bet (the higher betting tier-twice the small bet).

The most common limits for the small and big bets are (in $) 1-2, 2-4, 3-6, 4-8, 5-10, 10-20, 15-30, 20-40, 30-60, 60-120, 100-200, and 300-600. You must bet exactly the predetermined amount, which is why it's known as a structured game. You are not free to bet, for example, $4 or $5 in a $3-$6 game. I've been asked why there are no $25-$50 and $50-$ 100 limit hold 'em games. I've looked into it and no one seems to know. It seems to be just a matter of convention.

Another betting structure that's common at lower limits is called spread limit. A spread limit betting structure gives you more freedom—it allows you to bet any amount you choose at any time, as long as that amount is within the preset minimum and maximum.
The most common spread limit is $l-$5, meaning that you can bet any amount from $1 to $5. As in all other poker games, a raise must be at least the amount of the previous bet. There are a few significant differences between playing strategy and tactics in a spread limit game and in a structured game. We'll cover those in a later chapter.

Another popular betting structure is called $l-$4-$8-$8 limit. It's really a form of spread limit with some structure: you can bet from $ 1 to $4 before and after the flop and from $1 to $8 on the turn and the river.

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Raise: A bet which equals a bet made previously in the round, plus an additional bet.

Rake: The amount of money taking out of the pot by the house as its fee for running the game.

Re-raise: A bet equaling a previous bet and raise, plus an additional bet—a raise of a raise.

Rough: In lowball, backing cards that are relatively high, such as 8 7 5 4 3, a rough 8.

Round: The complete cycle of checks, bets, folds, and raises occurring after each new card or cards are dealt; the complete cycle of cards dealt previous to or subsequent to betting.

Royal Flush: An A K QJ 10 of the same suit. The highest ranking hand in high poker.

Showdown: The final act of a poker game, where remaining players reveal their hands to determine the winner of the pot.

Seventh Street: The seventh and final card dealt in seven-card stud.
Sixth Street: The sixth card dealt in seven-card stud.

Smooth: In lowball, backing cards that are relatively low, such as 8 4 3 2 A, a smooth 8.
Stand Pat: In draw poker, to draw no cards.

Straight: A sequence of five consecutive cards of mixed suits, such as 4 5 6 7 8.

Straight Flush: A sequence of five consecutive cards in the same suit, such as 8 9 10 J Q of spades.

Stud Poker: Variation of poker where one or more cards are visible to the other players.
Suited: Cards of the same suit.

Table Stakes: A rule stating that a player's bet or call of a bet is limited to the amount of money he has on the table in front of him.

Tell: An inadvertent mannerism or reaction that reveals information about a player's hand.

Third Street: The first round of betting in seven-card stud.

Trips: Three-of-a-kind.

Two-Way Hand: A hand that can be played for both high and low.

Up: A card dealt with its pips "face up" so that its value can be viewed by all players. Cards that are dealt face up are called Upcards.

Wild Cards: Cards designated as "wild" can be given any value, even as a duplicate of a card already held, by the holder of that card.

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Hand: The cards a player holds; the best five cards a player can present.

Head to Head: Poker played by two players only —one against the other.

High Poker: Poker variations where the high hand wins.

Hole Card: Card held by a player whose value is hidden from other players.

Joker: The "53rd" card in a deck bearing the drawing of a joker or clown; sometimes used as a wild card.

Limit Poker: Poker in which the maximum bet size is set at fixed amounts. Limit poker is generally, though not necessarily, set up in a two-tiered structure, such as $5-$10.

Low Poker: A form of poker in which the lowest hand wins.

Misdeal: A deal deemed illegal and therefore invalid.

No Limit: Poker in which the maximum bet allowed is limited only by the amount of money the bettor has on the table.

Opener: The player making the first bet in a betting round; the bet itself.

Openers: In jacks or better, hands that can open the betting (consisting of a pair of jacks or higher ranking hands).

Pass: See Check.

Pat Hand: In draw poker, a hand to which no cards are drawn; also implies an excellent hand.

Picture Card: The jack, queen, or king.

Position: A player's relative position to the player acting first in a poker round.

Pot: The sum total of all antes and bets placed in the center of the table by players during a poker hand and collected by the winner or winners of that hand.

Pot Limit: A rule signifying that the amount of the largest bet can be no more than the current size of the pot.

Pot Odds: A concept which examines the cost of a bet against the money to be made by winning the pot and compares this to a player's chances of winning that pot.

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Face: The side of a card exposing its value.

Face-Down: When the side of a card identifying its value faces the table and is therefore hidden from public view. Only the holder of that card knows its value. Cards dealt face-down to the players are also known as Downcards or Closed Cards.

Face-Up: When the side of a card identifying its value is exposed and can be viewed by all players. Cards dealt face-up are also called Open Cards.

Fifth Street: The fifth card received in seven-card stud; the last round of betting in hold 'em and Omaha.

Flop: In hold 'em and Omaha, the first three cards simultaneously dealt face-up for communal use by all active players.

Flush: A hand of five cards of the same suit.

Fold: The withdrawal of further play in a hand. Also referred to as Going Out.

Four-Flush: A hand of four cards of the same suit.

Four-of-a-kind: A hand containing four cards of identical value, such as K K K K (four kings).

Four-Straight: A hand containing four cards in numerical sequence, such as 7 8 9 10.

Fourth Street: Fourth card dealt in seven-card stud; fourth community card exposed in hold 'em.

Free Card: A betting round where all players checked, thereby allowing players to proceed to the next round of play without cost. Also called a Free Ride.

Full House: A hand consisting of three-of-a-kind and a pair, such as 7 7 7 K K.

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Let's get back to those mnemonics. Some poker hands have popular, easy-to-remember names, which help you memorize the hand. The following is a list of all the ones that I know ("s" represents suited cards):

HOLD 'EM HAND NICKNAMES
AA American Airlines, Pocket
Rockets, Eyes of Texas
AK Big Slick, Santa Barbara
AJ Ajax, Foamy Cleanser
A 10 Johnny Moss
A8 Dead Man's Hand
A 3 (3 A) Baskin Robbins
KVQ¥ Marriage
KJ Kojack
K 10 Katie, Katy
K9 Canine, Pedigree, Mongrel
K8 Kokomo
K7 Columbia River
K3 King Crab, Alaska Hand
QQ Siegfried and Roy
QJ Maverick
Q10 Quint, Goolsby
Q9 Quinine
Q7 Computer Hand
Q3 San Francisco Busboy
(Queen with, a Trey)
J5 Motown (Jackson 5)
10 5 (5 10) Woolworth, Barbara Hutton,
Dimestore
104 Broderick Crawford
10 3 Weinberg
10 2 Doyle Brunson
98 Oldsmobile
96 Joe Bernstein
95 Dolly Parton
9 3 (3 9) Jack Benny
92 Montana Banana
8 8 Little Oldsmobile, Mighty
Wurlitzer, Snowmen
8 5 Finky Dink
8 3 (3 Raquel Welch
76 Union Oil, Trombones
7 5 (5 7) Heinz (57 Sauce), Pickle Man
72 Beer Hand
6 5s Ken Warren
63 Blocky
62 Ainsworth
54 Jesse James, Jane Russell
5 3 Bully Johnson
44 4* Darth Vader (Dark Fours,
Dark Force), Sailboats
4 2 (2 4) Lumberman's Hand (2 by 4)
3 3 Crabs

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What are the first three shared cards called in Texas hold 'em? What's a straddle? If I say you have a gutshot, do you know what cards you're holding?
If these terms are unfamiliar to you, take a moment to skim through the glossary at the end of this book. We need to be speaking the same language, so we understand what a particular word means when talking about Texas hold 'em. This is already known as the jargon, or the "lingo," used among players who know the game well. When we agree on definitions and terms in advance, the communication is faster and easier.

Mnemonics
A mnemonic is a trick to help you remember something easily. When you pick two cards at random from a deck of fifty-two cards, there are 1,326 different two-card hands that can be created. Since that's a lot to remember, let's disregard suits (AV9^ is the same as A49*). Now you have just 169 possible hands. It gets easier from there, because many of these hands have nicknames, which are the mnemonics in poker.

If you've played poker before, you know that you have to pay careful attention to what's going on in the game. Anything you can do to make this task easier on yourself helps you concentrate on the more important things, like watching the other players play their hands.
Get into the habit of not looking at your hand until it is your turn to act. When the play passes to you, decide how you want to play the hand. If you muck it, then it's over until the next hand. If you decide to play, memorize the hand, place it in front of you with a chip on it to protect it, and then don't look at it again until the hand is over.
Why shouldn't you look at your hand again? Tells will be covered in a later chapter, but you should know now that there are a few tells associated with how you look at your hand and how your opponents react to the flop.

When the flop is all of one suit, you will often see another player immediately double-check his hole cards. This reaction usually means that he has exactly one card of that suit and he's checking to see which one of his hole cards it is. So you know that he does not yet have the flush. Don't do your opponents any favors by providing them with similar knowledge about your hand.

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At a ten-handed table, I usually think of the seats as divided into five pairs.
Number of chairs to the left of the dealer button

1 & 2 The blinds
3&4 The under-the-gun positions (first two players to act after the blinds)
5&6 Early position
7 & 8 Middle position
9 & 10 Late position and the button

DECIDING TO PLAY
If you're a new Hold 'Em player, or just new to the table and haven't yet been able to identify the game conditions, the best approach is to just play tight.
There are three things you should take into consideration when deciding whether to play a hand.

1. Your position
2. How many players have already called
3. Whether the pot has been raised

Depending on these three things, tight play means different things. It doesn't mean wait until you get pocket Aces. Tight play means that you should only get involved when the situation suggests that the hand you've been dealt has an edge over the hands the other players have been dealt.

When you're in early position, you should generally play fewer hands because of the lack of information you have about others' hands and the risk of a weak hand being raised by a better one. In late position, you have more information about others' hands and can often play weaker hands if no one has raised. Actually, in late position you can usually play weaker hands even if someone has raised.

How the number of players affects your hands depends both on how many of them have called and the position they've called from. If others have called from an early position, you generally need a stronger hand. That's because most players who open from an early position will have a strong hand themselves. However, if many players (generally five or more) have called, then you can play many weaker hands because you're getting fairly good odds on your money.

If the pot has been raised, you should generally play few hands. This is especially true if the raiser came in from an early position.

In the tables, I list some minimum hand requirements to open the pot or to call an opener under various situations. Don't memorize these tables. The cut-off hands I suggest are just that— suggestions. In most cases you should be playing either tighter or looser than the tables suggest—depending on how well the others at the table play. The better your opposition plays, the fewer hands you should play. The worse your opposition plays, the more hands you should play. Use these tables as guidelines, not as a set of rules about playable hands.

In cases where your opponents all play badly after the flop, then you can usually loosen up even on these minimum requirements, but in many games the minimums given in these tables are probably too loose. You should play tighter than the tables suggest. In Chapter 12, where I talk about a theory of starting hand values, I give some other hand groupings based on game characteristics that give hands value. My best suggestion is to take the tables in this chapter and adjust them for play in the game in which you typically play based on the hand groups I give in Chapter 12. Do your own table of starting hands based on game characteristics and on how well you play relative to the other players. The simplest decisions are when no one else has called yet, meaning the only thing you need to take into consideration is your position.

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