(1) FIVE ODD CARDS that bear no relation to each other, such as Q of Spades, J of Clubs, 9 of Diamonds, 6 of Clubs and 3 of Hearts. This is an almost worthless collection, and yet there are times when it is the best hand out, for in a show against a similar set the highest card in either hand wins. This hand would be declared as " Queen High," and could be beaten by a " King High " or " Ace High." Almost invariably such hands are " thrown in."

(2) A PAIR—i.e., two cards of the the same pip-value, say a pair of Sevens of any suit and three other cards. Ordinarily the three outsiders are discarded, but some players prefer to retain the Ace as a " Kicker " (a worthless but high card kept in the hope of getting a similar one), or with the idea of deceiving opponents. There are three possible developments in drawing to a pair. The two Sevens may finish as three, or even four Sevens, or may be turned into a " Full Hand "—

(3) Two PAIRS—e.g., two Jacks and two Eights. In this case the fifth card is generally thrown in, and if the replacement happens to be another J or Eight, the holder has a " full hand." That is the only possible way of improving, hence many players are not keen on being " born " with " Two Pair." The odds against them filling the " Full Hand " are so great that on occasions they are prompted to stand " pat" in the hope of leading opponents to believe that it is a hand that cannot be improved—as a " Straight," " Flush," or " Full Hand."

4) THREES—i.e., three cards of the same pip-value—three Kings, Queens, Jacks, Tens, etc. The remaining two are discarded in the hope of securing " Fours " or a " Full Hand." It has been mathematically worked out that it is more difficult to improve on Threes than on Two Pair, but a lot of seasoned Pokerites are difficult to convince on this point.

(5) A STRAIGHT—i.e., a hand containing all five cards in proper sequence, but of mixed denomination— say, Ten of Clubs, Nine of Hearts, Eight of Spades, Seven of Diamonds, and Six of Diamonds. Of course if you are dealt with this you stand " pat." Should you originally have the first four cards, and the Five of Diamonds instead of the Six, you throw in the latter. You may pick up a six or a Jack, either of which would give you the sequence. In Straights, the Ace, as we have seen, plays a double role. A Straight hand of five, four, three, two and Ace is declared as " Five High," and a Straight consisting of Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten is declared " Ace High." If two players hold Straights, the highest value card decides the winner; when two or more are of equal value, the pool must be divided.

(6) A FLUSH—i.e., five cards of the same suit. When two flushes are shown against each other, the winning combination is the one that contains the highest card or cards. In a Flush, the Ace always counts highest, so a hand formed of Ace, Two, Three, Four and Eight would beat a Flush with a King High, whatever the other cards. If in the deal you have four Diamonds and a Heart, you throw in the latter, hoping to draw another Diamond; should you fail the hand is worthless—though even then you may, by a bold bluff, frighten away the opposition.

(7) FULL HAND—i.e., a Pak and a Three. If there is more than one Full Hand shown, the tie is decided by the highest Three. Thus three Sixes and a pair of Aces are inferior to three Sevens and a pair of Twos. The unbeatable Full Hand (" Full House " some term it) is three Aces along with any kind of Pair. No two Full Hands can be of equal value, so there can be no division of the Pool.

(8) FOURS—i.e., four cards of the same denomination; four Tens, for instance. The fifth card is of no consequence as—unless the Joker (see p. 130) is in use—the Hand cannot be improved. Yet the worthless one is invariably discarded solely with the idea of mystifying the opposition. They might conclude you are drawing to Two Pair, Straight, or Flush, and the last thing they would think was that you were born with Fours, so rarely does it happen. Only when you start wagering will you make the opposition sit up and take notice! It is hardly probable that you will find yourself confronted by another hand of Fours—it is millions to one against such a possibility. With " pat " Fours the wagering prospect is better than the player who comes in with Threes and fills Fours, for then the opponents deduce that he starts with Threes, but when one card is drawn, the opponents are kept wondering what is the actual objective. Of course there are times— but they are few and far between—when a Pair develops into Fours, and then the lucky holder is on velvet.

(9) STRAIGHT FLUSH—i.e., a Straight and Flush combined—a sequence all of the same suit. There is no difference in value or rank as far as suits are concerned.

(10) ROYAL FLUSH—this is the last and best of the possible combinations, a glorified Straight Flush, viz., the Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten of a suit; it cannot be beaten. So rarely does the combination turn up that the holder, in addition to scooping up the money in the pool, draws a certain amount (in proportion to the stake prevailing throughout the game) from each player at the table. It is called " penalty money," and in most clubs it is the practice that when this most rare event happens, the Royal Flush holder stands a round of refreshment—as, in golf clubs, a member is expected to celebrate his performance of " holing in one " by hospitality to all members at the " nineteenth " hole.
The relative value of the preceding ten combinations has been decided by the mathematical chances of the Deal and the rarest combination naturally ranks the highest. The odds against receiving in a Deal any of these combinations have been calculated as follows :

Hand Odds Against Number in all possible combinations
One pair 1.25 to 1 1,098,240
Two pair 20 to 1 123,552
Threes 46 to 1 54,912
Sequence 254 to 1 10,200
Flush 508 to 1 5,100
Full Hand 693 to 1 3,744
Fours 4,164 to 1 624
Straight Flush 72,192 to 1 26
Royal Flush 649,739 to 1 4

There are 2,598,960 different combinations of five cards possible in the pack (excluding Joker); 1,302,540 hold no Pair, Sequence or Flush.

The chances are 2.5 to 1 against improving a Pair by drawing three cards; 8 to I against making Threes or Two Pair ; 61 to 1 against a Full Hand ; 364 to 1 against Fours; 4 to 1 against improving a Pair by drawing two cards ; 8 to 1 against Two Pair ; and 12 to 1 against Threes.

They are 12 to 1 against improving a Full Hand by drawing to Two Pair ; 8 to 1 against improving Threes by drawing two; 14 to 1 against a Full Hand and 23 to 1 against Fours.

The draw completed, betting follows, and it is opened by the next player to the left of the Age, even if the latter has already retired. It is not incumbent on him to bet—he may have come in originally in the hope of filling a Straight or Flush and failed to fill; his hand is thus worthless, and so, if he doesn't feel like bluffing, he throws in. Then the next player in turn to the left must decide, and so on. If no one bets, the Age, if he is left in (as is invariably the case), takes the pool. If any player bets, each in turn to the left must see the bet or raise it, or drop out, If, as in the game we have already mentioned, the maximum limit for betting is £i, then the raises must be 2s. a time.

To illustrate how this works out; suppose A (the Age), B, C and D become engaged in a battle royal, each holding a powerful combination, the remaining players having been frightened out. B starts the ball rolling with 2s. ; C raises 2s. (43. in all) ; D " sees " (i.e., he remains in the betting but does not raise the stake) ; A raises another 2s.; B does ditto (8s. in all); C raises again (IDS. in all) ; D drops out (" frozen out"— considers the pace too hot for his holding—and forfeits his 43.); the other three, A, B and C fight to the finish, the closure being applied when they have each staked 2os. reached by advances (raises) of 2s. at a tune. The show of hands follows and the player holding the best combination collects the pool. This is an exceptional instance of spirited play, going to the limit, and if an average of half that amount is speculated on each round, the play is highly entertaining—especially to the winners!

Any player who sees or raises out of his turn cannot withdraw his money—money once placed in the pool cannot be taken out of it, except as winnings. When betting is closed, all hands in the call must be shown on the table. A player who is in a call, whether he called the last bet, or his bet was called, must not admit he is beaten and conceal his hand. If the last bet made is not seen, the player takes the pool without being called upon to show his hand. It is, however, allowable for two players who are betting only against each other to agree to divide the pool, but even in this case, their cards must be exposed to the table.

One of the secrets of success at Poker is to know when and how to bet, by calling or raising, so that when a good hand comes one's way, tactics most likely to be productive will be adopted. A common practice with some players is, at the start, to launch on an " advertising campaign," that is, bet on insignificant hands. They maintain that if after a spell of bluffing tactics, they " get the goods," they will then get full value for them.

The player next to the Age is in a wrong position to give signs of strength straight away, and lies low in the hope of seeing possible raises and, if possible, raising further. The Age man is generally looked upon as the most advantageously placed, hence the reason for his deposit of a Blind stake. Often, when he is in the act of completing the first round of betting, he has summed up the situation and can act accordingly. On the other hand, the Age, unless he has the reputation of being an out-and-out stonewaller, is never given credit for holding anything. If he has a high Pair, it is, therefore, good tactics for him to raise, if that has not already been done by others.

An invaluable aid to successful wagering is to keep ever in mind the idiosyncrasies of one's opponents. Don't be given to excessive seeing—it's an impoverishing form of inquisitiveness! The adept Pokerite is ever changing in his methods—thereby confounding the enemy, while the too cautious player (he who is never known to bluff), never gets good value for a good hand, and never, unless he has an extraordinary run of good cards, rises from the table a substantial winner.

It is impossible to estimate the value of a hand. The heaviest losses may be made on Fours. Never think how much you may win on a good hand, but how much you can lose. That is not cowardice; it is good judgement.

It is reckoned that the player who most frequently holds Two Pairs will win in the end. It is not the pools, (few and far between) which help your pile, but the bulk of the small ones. Sometimes a player has a long spell of miserable hands. He must now exercise patience and only look on till the period of Threes or even better arrives. Then is the time to play them for all they're worth—the time to " push your luck " !

There are some players who make a practice of " cutting their losses." They are prepared to lose £5 and nothing more. On the other hand they remain at the table as long as they are winning. This may be called a selfish attitude, but then—and it's as well to know this—no mercy is given or expected at the Poker table.