TEXAS HOLD’EM

For starters each player is dealt two cards. After a round of betting three cards sare turned over in the middle of the table. These cards, called the flop, are common or community cards and are part of everyone's hand. So if you started with a pair of queens and the flop cards are a queen and a pair of deuces, you have a full house at this point.  Now there is a second round of betting and then another common card, called the turn card, is revealed. After a third round of betting, the fifth and final community card, called the river card, is placed on the board. Now there's a fourth and final round of betting, and those players still in the pot show  their hands. The best five-card hand out of the seven cards available using each player's hand and the board is the winner.

There are usually fixed amounts you can bet on any round.  It will probably be at least $2 on the first two betting rounds with it doubling to $4 on the last two rounds.  So if you sit at a $5-$10 limit table, your bet or raise would be $5 before the flop and $10 on the turn and the river. 

Some casinos offer spread limit betting, such as $1-4-8-8. In this variation, you can bet anything from $1 to $4 before and after the flop, and anything up to $8 on the turn and the river. Make sure you know the betting limits before you sit down to play. You can ask the floor manager, cardroom employees, or look for a brass plate on the table to the right of the dealer.

 The rake is the money that the house takes out of each pot.  The rake is usually 5% of the pot up to a ceiling, such as $3 per pot. Sometimes this is taken out of the pot directly, while in other cardrooms each player in turn posts a collection before the hand begins.   If you watch a hand or two you’ll see if the dealer is collecting the rake before the hand begins or while it’s underway. 

In this game there is a round disc called a dealer button that moves from player to player clockwise.  This represents which player would be the dealer if the deal rotated at the table. This is because some players to the left of the button have to post blind bets, or blinds, at the start of each hand. 

 In most Hold'em games, you'll find two blinds. The small blind, to the dealer's immediate left, is usually half the amount of the small bet in a fixed limit game. The big blind, to the immediate left of the small blind, is usually equal to the full amount of the small bet in a fixed limit game. If you were playing $4-8 hold'em, the small blind would post $2 and the big blind would post $4. In the case of a game where half the single bet is not an even amount, the small blind will post either 1/3 or 2/3 of the single bet. In a $15-30 game, then, the small blind would post either $5 or $10, depending on the house rules at that particular casino. 

This is done to get at least some money into every pot. If there were no blinds, then no player would enter the pot with anything but the best hands. With so little betting the game would probably die. With the blind bet, each player takes his turn entering the pot involuntarily. Then the other players, after the blinds, decide whether they want to compete for the blinds' money by contributing bets of their own. The blinds, then, serve to stimulate the action in a button-style poker game. 

Position is important in Texas Hold'em. The longer you have to act, the bigger your advantage. The players in the blinds hold the most vulnerable position, and the players nearest the button having the biggest positional edge. Players posting the blinds are entering the pot involuntarily, with hands that can be no better than average. So the button moves with every hand in fairness so that each player has a turn at posting the blinds and at being in late position, near or on the button. 

You’ll likely find a low minimum table online if you’d like to practice without getting into too much trouble.  So test your skills and have some fun.  Good luck! 

CRAPS

The player who rolls the dice is known as the "shooter". Two dice are rolled and any number between 2 and 12 can come up. Some numbers will appear more often than others. For example there are six different ways to roll a 7, but only one way to roll a 2 or a 12. The number 7 has a better than 16% chance of coming up on each roll, but there is less than a 3% chance of rolling a 2 or 12. Probabilities for other numbers are as follows: 6s and 8s under 14%, 5s and 9s nearly 11%, 4s and 10s almost 8%, 3s and 11s slightly less than 6%.

Therefore 7 is the most frequently rolled number and that’s why the game revolves mostly around the number 7. The number 7 wins only if it comes up on the come-out roll. If it’ is rolled while the shooter is trying to repeat his point number, the 7 loses, but the point number wins. Craps table layouts at online casinos usually show only one half of the table. In a live casino the second half is exactly the same, making it a bigger table to accommodate more players and bets. When a new shooter rolls the dice the first time it’s called the "come-out" roll. If the shooter rolls a 7, then a 5, that means the 5 becomes the point. The shooter continues to roll the dice until his point number (in this case 5) repeats or he "sevens-out" (rolls another 7). If either of these things happens, that round of play is over. A new shooter makes a new come-out roll. A plastic marker that is black on one side and white on the other is used to track the game. If the marker is turned black side up, it indicates that the shooter is making a come-out roll. After the shooter makes his point, the marker is turned over, with the white side up, and placed on the number that corresponds to the point. It’s time to place your first bet. On the table you’ll see two lines, "pass", and "don’t pass". The more popular of the two "pass". Pass and don’t pass bets are basically direct opposites of each other but carry about the same odds.  To place your bet put your wager somewhere on the pass line. If the number rolled on the come-out is 7 or 11 you win and are paid 1:1. You would then bet on a new come-out roll. If the dice thrown total 2, 3 or 12 (a "crap"), you lose  If the total is 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, that number becomes the "point". Suppose you’ve made a pass line bet and a point of 5 has been established. You may now bet an amount equal to your pass line wager by placing it behind your pass line bet, but outside the pass-line strip. This means an "odds bet" on 5. If 7 turns up before 5, you lose both bets. If 5 is thrown before 7, you win both bets.

The house has no edge on the odds bet.  It’s the best bet you can make as the casino will pay you true odds. For example, if you’ve bet pass line with odds and the point is 10, you will receive a 2-1 payment on your odds bet. The amount you win depends on what the point is, and how difficult it is to roll that point number.  We mentioned these percentages above.  On points of 4 or 10 the pay-off is 2 to 1, on points of 5 and 9 it's 3 to 2 and on points of 6 or 8 you get 6 to 5.

That should get you going at the Craps Table.  Good luck!

BLACKJACK

The objective of the game is to get 21 or as close to 21 as possible without going over, and beating the dealer’s hand.  Before the deal begins each player must place a bet on the designated spot on the table in front of him or her.  The minimum bet varies from table to table.  The dealer will deal one card up to each player and a card down to himself.  He’ll then deal a second up card to each player followed by his own up card. Kings, Queens, Jacks are all worth ten points and the Ace can count as either 1 or 11 points.  The choice  is yours and will depend on your hand.   All other cards are counted at face value. Blackjack Ace and a 10 point card (10, Jack, Queen, or King) wins! If the dealer also gets blackjack then it is a standoff (all ties or pushes are considered standoffs). A winning blackjack pays the player 3 to 2. Hit or Stand A hit means to have the dealer give you another card. You can indicate this by a hand gesture to the dealer or just say hit me. To Stand means that you want to stick with the cards you have.  Indicate this by putting your wager over your cards or turning the cards in a horizontal direction, to show you don't want anymore cards. If you ask for a hit and you go over 21, you bust and give in your cards and your wager is lost. Double Down This means that you can double your bet on the first two cards and draw only one more card to improve your hand.  This is allowed when you hold 10 or 11 total on your first two cards. Splitting Pairs If the first two cards a player is dealt are a pair, he may split them into two separate hands.  He must match his first bet and then play them separately as two hands. Aces receive only one additional card if split and after the split if you get an Ace and a 10 it counts as 21 and not as blackjack. Insurance If the dealer’s up card is an ace, the player may take insurance. He can bet one-half his original bet, but not more. If the dealer's down card is a 10 or face card then the player wins 2 to 1, but if it is any other card then the dealer will win. Surrender When permitted, a player may give up the first two cards he draws and loses 1/2 of his original bet.

Hit or Stand A hit means to have the dealer give you another card. You can indicate this by a hand gesture to the dealer or just say hit me. To Stand means that you want to stick with the cards you have.  Indicate this by putting your wager over your cards or turning the cards in a horizontal direction, to show you don't want anymore cards. If you ask for a hit and you go over 21, you bust and give in your cards and your wager is lost. Double Down This means that you can double your bet on the first two cards and draw only one more card to improve your hand.  This is allowed when you hold 10 or 11 total on your first two cards. Splitting Pairs If the first two cards a player is dealt are a pair, he may split them into two separate hands.  He must match his first bet and then play them separately as two hands. Aces receive only one additional card if split and after the split if you get an Ace and a 10 it counts as 21 and not as blackjack. Insurance If the dealer’s up card is an ace, the player may take insurance. He can bet one-half his original bet, but not more. If the dealer's down card is a 10 or face card then the player wins 2 to 1, but if it is any other card then the dealer will win. Surrender When permitted, a player may give up the first two cards he draws and loses 1/2 of his original bet. IMPORTANT   Remember that the dealer must stand on 17 and draw to 16.  You should memorize the following 6 rules.

1. Stand if you hold hard 12 to 16 and the dealer shows 2 to 6
2. Hit if you hold hard 12 to 16 and the dealer shows a 7 or higher
3. Stand on 17 to 21, but hit soft 17
4. Always split pairs of Aces and 8’s
5. Never split 10’s, jacks, queens, kings, 5’s or 4’s
6. Double down on 10 or 11 if dealer shows an 8 or lower