A Beginner’s Guide to Poker

Editorial

Stud. Draw. Omaha. Double Action. No, you smutty thing, these are not the names we give to things one does in the grotto at the Playboy Mansion. They are all varieties of poker; a much more respectable game than anything Hef ever played.

Yes, poker is respectable. Or, at least, it's heading toward respectability. Look at any of the Final Tables in the world's major tournaments and you'll see more post-graduate degrees than you might at a Yale alumni reunion.

There are dozens of variations on one of the world's most popular games; here in Australia, the stripped-deck game of Manila has reigned for decades as the backroom and building-site favourite. But now, so aficionados agree, it is the game of No Limit, or "Texas", Holdem that is the true monarch of the table.

When local lad Joe Hachem took out the $M7.5 prize in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 2005, that's the game he was playing. With very few exceptions, all the tables you see on the telly are of a noble breed described by Doyle Brunson, the game's truest legend, as, "the Cadillac of poker." It is this game, more or less, that is the subject of the Matt Damon film <.i />Rounders; compulsory viewing for every poker novice.

If you're new to the game, you're going to have to trust me: Holdem is king. It's a fast-moving train fuelled by probability, psychology and panache. And, when played with absolute concentration, it is not gambling so much as it is a mind-game.

I'm hardly alone in this view. The matter of luck vs. skill in poker is even a matter for legal debate. With basic algebra and a strong stomach, this game of finite possibilities can be tamed far, far more than the lottery. As Damon's character observes in the movie, "The same five guys make it to the final table every year at the WSOP." Played judiciously, it is a game where skill predominates over luck and chance.

N.B. This is not to say you will win buckets of money. It is, however, to suggest that a poker tournament is a wonderful way not to lose too much too quickly. More to the point, it's a fabulous way to spend time with friends.

As is the case with chess, our culture's greatest mind-game, Holdem takes minutes to learn and years to master. The rules are simple and can be viewed here. When you've got your head around those, move on to the Holdem chapter in Brunson's famous book Super/System.

Personally, I'm a tournament player. Many like to play "cash" games; that is, the sort of game where you can leave the table with your winnings at any time. I like the control of putting in my stake - usually twenty bucks at my home-game - and spending several hours losing or, less often, winning. I'd say cash play is a great way for a novice to lose a big, dirty stack of money. In a cash game, a player can just keep on feeding the beast. Tournament play, however, has a limited appetite. You can't give the game more than your initial stake.

It's quite legal to hold a fun, social night of minimised risk at home. That is so long as no-one is charging players a commission, or "rake" as we say in poker, to play. To be extra-cautious, check with your State or Territory's authority about the requirements for your game. 

While poker held in pubs or casinos can be immense fun, these never have either the intimacy or the satisfying backroom feel of a game you host at home. More importantly, they don't have the snacks! You can set the mood and make the sandwiches in a weekly tournament that will, on average, take around three hours to complete.

There need be nothing shady about a good game of poker. I'm hardly a poker-pit dolly who shoves dollars in her garter and drinks rye whisky as though it were water. I'm just one of many who devote a very limited sum of money each week to a hobby. Personally, I've found that it's improved my maths, reinvigorated my social life and dissuaded me from ever again popping a coin into a "poker" machine.

Helen Holdem Razer, Citysearch