POKER, a game of cards, for any number of players from two to eight, each for himself. The usual pack is 52 cards, to which the joker is sometimes added, or the pack may be "stripped" by deleting the 2S, 3s and 4s. When eight play, a pack with ii's and i2's is sometimes used. The suits have no rank, but the cards rank from the ace, king, queen, down to the deuce. Players are provided with chips of various colours and values; white being the lowest, then red, blue and yellow.
This game is evidently an adaptation of the Persian game of As nas, as it was originally played with only 20 cards, dealt to four players, and went to the United States by way of New Orleans. Owing to its resemblance to the French game of "poque," and the German game of "pochen," the French colonists called it poque, and this spelling was mispronounced by the English speaking players as po-que, easily converted into poker.
"Full-deck poker," with 52 cards, was not played until about 183o, but was still "straight poker" or "bluff," there being no draw to improve the hands until the early '6os, during the American Civil War. About this time straights were introduced, but they ranked below triplets, beating two pairs. This led to the straight flush in the early '705, and shortly afterward the jack pot was introduced, so as to force cautious players to come in and bet, whether they had strong hands or not. This rendered useless much of the "scientific" playing of the old school.
A card is dealt face up to each player and the first one dealt a jack takes his choice of seats and deals the first hand. Some times, instead of the player dealt the first jack, the one dealt the highest card takes the deal and seat, the others in order after him to the left. At the end of each hour seats may be redistributed in the same way. If a newcomer enters, cards are dealt round, and he takes his seat to the left of the holder of the first jack.
There are two standard games : draw poker and stud poker. In draw poker the "age" (player on the dealer's left) puts up a white chip "blind," which may be "straddled" by the player on his left by putting up two chips, but this is seldom done. In "all
jacks," no one can draw cards until someone has "opened" by declaring he has a hand as good as a pair of jacks. In this game everyone antes the same amount and there is no straddle. The man on the dealer's left is "under the gun." Before play begins two things must be agreed upon : a betting limit, which is the amount by which any previous bet may be in creased, and the value of the blind; of the ante in jack pots. As soon as the blind or the antes have been put up the cards are dealt.
Any player may shuffle the pack, the dealer last. The player to the right of the dealer cuts and the cards are distributed one at a time from left to right until each has five. It is a misdeal if a card is found faced in the pack, or more than five are given to more than one player; but a card faced in dealing must be taken. The players then examine their hands. Those wishing to draw cards in the regular game make the ante good by putting in twice as much as the blind or straddle, with the privilege of increasing it any amount within the betting limit. Each player to the left must then "call" this amount, raise it or throw up his hand. In jack pots, each player in turn to the left of the dealer examines his hand, and if he has a pair of jacks or better, he may "open," if he wishes to do so, by betting any amount within the limit. This opening is not compulsory, the man under the gun frequently passing with nothing but jacks, owing to the • disadvantage of his position.
Those who wish to draw cards against the opener may call or raise his bet without any restrictions on what they may hold, even if they passed before the pot was opened. Those who do not draw cards should not abandon their hands until they have seen that the opener has the necessary qualification. This is to pro tect their interest in the pot, as the opener is required always to place his discard under the chips in the pool, whether he is splitting his openers or not. Modern poker, as played in the United States, is almost all jack pots.