How To Play Crazy Pineapple Poker

• Author: Thomas Kearns
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Sep 6,2010

While bearing some resemblance to Texas Hold’em, Crazy Pineapple poker offers several variations in the rules that make it a form unto itself. The variance is greatly increased in Pineapple due to its many opportunities for different hand combinations plus the increased probabilities surrounding the additional card. All this adds up to the warning that one should not enter into a game heedlessly without first studying the rules, strategies and methods of play both by game observation and literature.

Crazy Pineapple poker Format

To begin the game two players put forth a blind ante before the deal, which is similar to many other poker games. Once the antes are placed, the dealer gives each player three cards, a round of betting follows, then the flop, after which the dealer shows the table three community cards. Now comes betting round one which encompasses pretty standard rules after which the craziness begins giving this variation its name with its crazy labyrinth of strategies and moves. This is why one must be prepared to play the game before taking the plunge and making that first bet.

After the bet following the flop, players can trade in of the of the three hold cards in their hand, wherein the game resembles Texas Hold’em somewhat. This trade of the one card intensifies the complexity of the game and the players need to have a firm grasp on bluffing, pot sizes, and positioning. The format of the game again resembles Texas Hold’em after the second round of bets are placed – the best 5-card hand wins the round using the hole cards and community cards. There are more opportunities in Pineapple to make flushes, straights and three of a kind from the draw cards.

Systems of Play in Crazy Pineapple Poker

Because of the game’s high variance, the player with more experience has the edge in using it to overpower his opponents. In many cases, there will be a substantial number of players remaining active after the flop with fond hopes of strengthening their hands on the trade-in, however with a powerful opening hand this is also the time to take advantage of the opportunity to value bet. It is no rarity to find a large percentage of players donate to the pot all the way up until the river, which also gives forth yet another opportunity for increased earnings. An optimum strategy just might be a combination of aggression and patience post turn to engineer a successful end.

The opening hands with high suited cards or high pairs are the ones with which you want to start your play as they are the tops and can morph into an increased hand value with their potential for flushes and straights. Remember that the larger number of visible cards produces a winning hand that is superior to Hold’em so consequently you must adjust your pot hopes. If you hold a pair into a flop, you are making a wise move unless the board reveals a strong chance of hitting a straight, flush or full house. Slow game play is a ploy for many players but being aggressive at the right moment can daze and confuse your opponents. Scrambling your moves and strategies will increase your chances of success when your hand is solid. Use semi-bluffs in Pineapple as a means to increase your stack. The mixed up strategy modus operandi will pay dividends at the table and keep you on your toes.

For more information on how to play other poker games like Texas Holdem or Royal Holdem please visit Rakeback Solution.

The ABCs Of Playing 5-Card Stud Poker

• Author: David Patron
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Aug 20,2010

Five card stud poker has a long colorful history in the world of poker. It is one of the first varieties of poker in recorded history and was popular a long time ago and it remains so today. As you know, poker does not consist of just one game but a variety of games, and while one of the varieties is stud poker, even under this one umbrella, you will discover many varieties: spread limit, fixed limit, no limit, pot limit and any number of combinations of all of these. Some see 5-card stud as one of the more simplistic poker games, but to be successful at it requires a deeper comprehension of betting, positions and card combinations. Winning stud players, as in any of the other poker types, do not stick with one tried and true strategy but have a mix of strategies, sometimes varying it with every move and recalculating the odds as they do so.

While not reaching the level of popularity of Texas Hold’em, which is at the top of the popularity scale, 5-card stud nonetheless has gathered a substantial following in cash and tournament play. While not yet a prominent factor in major tournaments, you will find it popular among cash and traditional players and even in tournaments devoted exclusively to the game.

Playing the Game of 5-Card Stud Poker

The game begins with a deal to each player of one card face down and one card face up. Some rules of some games may demand that the holder of the lowest visible card antes up (ties resolved by the size of the ante), followed by a betting round. After completion of this first round of bets, another card is dealt face up and he who has the highest up-card takes the first action. Another betting round ensues, and then another two rounds of cards are dealt The player with the highest scoring hand at the end of the game triumphs. All cards in each players hands are revealed at the end to determine the highest scoring, winning hand.

Maximum Winning Strategies for Five Card Stud

With stud, it would be a rare incident indeed that you draw into a straight or flush due to the five card hand limitation, so what you are drawing for are three of a kind, high pairs, or better. Do not be betting heavily toward draw hands because the odds are low, but do bet toward dual draws where the opportunity presents itself to make a straight or a different, higher scoring draw hand through the art of bluffing.

When the game is young, most players will bet toward drawing a pair, high cards or any combination adding up to a high score. With this in mind, attention must be paid, and close attention at that, to which cards other players are holding and go for the pot only if you fail to obtain an ace or better in your first three draws. Since the game is somewhat conservative, every opportunity is given to the bluff. Letting your bluffs be known can help you to gain optimum effectiveness in semi bluffing and the formation of a more aggressive strategy when you draw into a robust hand.

The very directness of 5-card stud poker attracts many a traditional player because of the easier reading of opponents tells and signing. Because of this, you must pay strict attention to the hands that your opponents are folding on and learn volumes for reference in subsequent rounds. The better you are at this insightful technique, the more money you will walk away with.

For more information on how to play other poker games like Omaha Holdem or Razz Poker please visit Rakeback Solution.

Badugi Poker And How It’s Played

• Author: Thomas Kearns
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Aug 15,2010

Badugi is at essence a draw game. Not everyone will have heard of Badugi so are not familiar with its odd betting structure and somewhat esoteric game play. It is a game of four cards with three rounds of draw where bets are placed and players start their quest to form the winning Badugi hand into showdown. Asia is where it is most commonly found and has quite a following there, but it is slowly wending its way west. The game is usually played in a fixed limit betting structure. There are two blinds and game play is fundamental to the majority of poker games. The game can be played also with pot or no limit as is the norm in tournament play.

Badugi Goes Like This:

To start the game, the dealer deals four face-down cards to each player, round one of betting follows starting with the player right ahead of the large blind. One can call, fold or raise up to the house limit. Players who stay with the game post-round one betting can then draw no cards at all or up to four cards. These drawn cards are not played. All players must be very cognizant of their discards and update their odds accordingly. Interestingly, similar to the streets used as terms for rounds in Texas Hold’em, Badugi uses the time of day to describe rounds.

Of special note is that successful hands are valued very differently from your usual poker version. You must be very clear on how hands are ranked, do not play Badugi unless you are. In Badugi, the only cards that count are those with distinct values and suits. So duplicates, or pairs and dual suits are worth nothing in your hand. The very name Badugi refers to the hand comprised of separate and distinct suited cards. As you compare hands, first consider the count of live cards, then the lower value of the highest card, realizing that ace is low. So, the epitome of the winning hand would contain ace, two, three and four, all unsuited. At the very bottom of the scale lies the hand of four kings.

The Utmost Badugi Strategy

Like 2-7 triple draw poker, Badugi has three drawing rounds. Unlike it, and very much so, is the difference that duplicates play in hand ranking. And with all poker forms, position at the table is important, but in Badugi it is critical. It serves as a very important observation point to watch your opponents draws, many cards indicate a weak hand, few a strong one and you can determine your own strength in relation to this.

A badugi is a hand complete with four cards. Imagine that you have a Badugi and desire to calculate the odds of your opponents hand while he draws. If the player swaps one card, he must draw the suit that is not represented in his hand. Odds here are 10 in 52 because the drawing player also does not want a match on any of the three cards in his pre-draw hand. Factor into your calculations also that the poor guy may draw one of the lower high value cards to his great dismay.

Suppose you hold in your hand a four-card ten high. In this case, the player has a 6 in 52 chance of hitting a lower, discrete value as any card higher than ten in the correct suit will not make his hand better than yours.

Before beginning that first betting round, the player has a little more than a 50% chance of drawing to a discrete four-card hand during each round, which adds up to a 20 % chance of doing so in each round.

For more information on how to play other poker games like Omaha Holdem or Razz Poker please visit Rakeback Solution.

Advice On Playing 5-Card Draw Poker

• Author: Thomas Kearns
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Aug 8,2010

For someone wanting to get their feet wet in the game of poker, 5-card draw is a great place to start. This is because of the purity of this poker variation, its interesting history, and last but certainly not least, it has very simple rules of play. Early poker tournaments included games in the 5-card draw configuration once introduced long ago among Mississippi River card game variations. The initial purpose of the game was one of study, but since then the poker draw became standard and its popularity spread throughout North America and Europe. Amateur games of 5-card draw have been recorded as early as the mid 19th century, and thereafter emerged such games as 7-card stud and Texas hold ‘em.

5-card draw poker continues its purity even today and is often found as a component of mixed cash games, tournament adjuncts and tournaments devoted to 5-card draw poker alone. Even though many still see it as jumping off place for the more complex varieties of poker, it does have its own structure, strategy and tactics.

So, How is it Played?

The game begins with the dealer dealing 5 cards to each player face down. After this comes a round of betting beginning with the button (dealer on the left of the large blind bet). After this first betting round, things begin to change. Now, the player is allowed to discard a certain number of cards (number based on house rules), draw the same number as discarded and thus forms the players initial hand. Another round of betting comes in here. Rules vary for 5 card draw games and are generally up to the house. Some will allow only three or four cards as trade-ins during round two, while others let the players exchange their entire hand for a new one. Once the final round of betting is completed, he who has the highest scoring hand wins.

Optimum Strategy for 5-Card Draw

The game consists of two betting rounds making it more commonly played in social home games rather than cut throat online poker sites and casinos. With only two rounds, the game is shortened considerably over other variations, but that doesn’t make it simplistic. As a matter of fact, its complex strategies and various techniques way more than make up for its length. It is important to understand the most common combination of cards to help in building your strategy. Strategy formulation also requires a great deal of patience, acute awareness of opponents moves and discards and the ability to adapt your strategy to meet changing situations.

Remember, you can only do a trade-in one time, so you and your opponents cannot count upon drawing to flushes or straights. Most of the winning hands will be three of a kind, high pairs, and so forth. Bluffing is commonly done by betting aggressively on a hand in which there are no swapped cards. You must be very aware of the number of cards your opponents trade in and the contortions on their faces when the get a look at their newly drawn hand. Depending on these observations, you will either keep your intended strategy or go for plan B. Good luck and have fun.

For more information on how to play other poker games like 2-7 Triple Draw or 5 Card Draw please visit Rakeback Solution.

So You Want To Play 7-Card Stud

• Author: David Patron
• Filed under: Poker
• Date: Aug 4,2010

The game of 7-card stud poker goes back to the very beginning of traditional poker history and is today still a very popular game in casinos and at casual home poker parties as well. Its large following is attracted by its standard structure, familiar to all poker players. Seven card stud rules change slightly from place to place but all are played with a maximum of seven players – this is because of the seven cards dealt to each player and the 52 card make up of a standard deck of cards – and, too, during the course of a game, the dealer will burn four cards. There are less betting rounds than in other forms of poker causing many a house to instigate a rule to call a pre-flop compulsory bet, or ante, to promote both participation in hands and a more complex and challenging game.

Those players who play only holdem games will find themselves at sea in stud poker because of the dissimilarity of strategy required to it play well. No player should think then, that they can approach a 7-card stud table without first observing many games and learning thoroughly its rules, tactics and betting strategies. This careful attention to stud games cannot help but allow a player to gain the insight required for any number of strategies.

A Description of Betting Rounds in 7-Card Stud Poker

To begin the game, each player is dealt three cards with two of them faced down and one up. Betting begins in a clockwise direction with the player holding the highest hand betting first (two aces would be the topmost hand at this point). The following three rounds, or streets as they are sometimes termed, will be dealt face up with the last (River) card dealt face down which takes us to the highest hand 5-card showdown. Betting rounds are taking place between each deal, with the exception of Mississippi stud which can be played with just four betting rounds and the last two cards are dealt as one.

Some 7-Card Stud Strategy

There is usually a mandatory ante that marks the start of most stud games and it is not unusual for some games to demand that the player with the lowest scoring visible hand “bring in” (place a forced bet). The game continues with each player being dealt three cards, two up and the bring in hand holder must bet first. In case of a tie, the suit is the tiebreaker. At this point in the game, a player has the right to bet, fold or raise to the level of the house limits.

Another deal commences with each player being dealt one card, followed by another round of bets starting with the player of the highest hand (three aces tops). In all ensuing rounds, the one who has the best visible cards can opt to bet or check to start the round. After all the cards have been dealt, the cards should be ordered in the players hands with two down cards, four up cards and finally, one down card.

Similar to Holdem and Omaha poker traditional play, the player with the highest ranking 5-card hand is the winner. Stud is a little unusual in that it does not have a community card pile and the cards in each hand are not all hidden. As is the rule in traditional games, a Royal Flush is at the top of the card combination ranking with the usual assortments ranked in the order of highest to lowest: straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, pair with high cards bringing up the rear. An appropriate betting strategy uses as its foundation hand strength, close attention to opponents betting patterns and face up cards and a fine sense of the size of the pot.

For more information on how to play other poker games like Texas Holdem or Royal Holdem please visit Rakeback Solution.