Texas Hold 'em
Poker game takes hold on cable TV, in casinos, even at home
Jodi Moss (left) rakes in her chips during a Texas Hold 'em tourney sponsored by a student group at the University of Georgia. -- Jeff Blake / Associated Press
How to play
? Dealer deals two cards face-down -- the hole-cards -- to each player.
? First round of betting
? Dealer deals the "Flop" -- three cards face-up in the center of the table. These cards are community cards that all players use to make up their hand.
? Second round of betting
? Dealer deals a fourth card -- Fourth Street -- face-up in the middle.
? Third round of betting
? Dealer deals the fifth and final card -- the River -- face-up in the middle.
? Fourth round of betting
? Players make the best five-card hand out of the seven cards available to them -- two cards they have face-down and the five community cards face-up in the middle. Best poker hand wins the pot.
Hand rankings
From strongest to weakest:
? Royal flush: Ten through ace in sequence of the same suit. The best possible hand in Texas Hold 'em.
? Straight flush: Any five cards in sequence of the same suit.
? Four of a kind: Four cards of the same rank.
? Full house: A three of a kind and a pair.
? Flush: Five cards of the same suit.
? Straight: Five cards in sequence of mixed suits.
? Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank.
? Two pair: Two separate sets of two cards of the same rank.
? Pair: Two cards of the same rank.
By Phillip B. Wilson
phillip.wilson@indystar.com
April 14, 2004
Texas Hold 'em got hold of Chris Smith two years ago. Before poker, nights out with buddies meant a few beers.
"Now I go hang out with my buddies and make money," Smith said of the gaming sensation that's inspiring a card-dealing, chip-splashing country to bid with bravado and say, "All-in."
The 34-year-old Castleton mortgage company proprietor recently surprised his wife, Tina, by flipping $600 on their bed. The six "hundos" -- what Smith calls $100 -- were winnings from two Hold 'em nights with the guys.
"I thought you only played for $1 or $2," she said.
Those are the stakes, in the beginning. But most games are no limit, meaning a player in any hand can bid everything by saying, "All-in." The chips fly. And pots, as well as egos, grow. Tournaments with 10 players per table are held in basements, offices and clubs. Smith recently competed in a five-table event with 40 players.
It's not like the game is new -- the 32nd annual World Series of Poker begins on April 23 at Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas. But when television started capturing the action and ratings soared in the past year, it was as if Texas Hold 'em became popular overnight. Local players like Smith can tune in on a weekly basis and see the top pros compete on ESPN at the World Series or on the Travel Channel's "World Poker Tour."
Series broadcasts in July and August averaged more than 1.2 million viewers, according to an ESPN representative. The WPT, the highest-rated show in Travel Channel history, attracted more than 1 million for a championship tournament in June.
Viewers quickly pick up the game's basics. They see the pros' two "hole" cards, through the use of "lipstick" cameras at the edge of where the players sit. Advantage percentages are calculated next to player names. Novices gain inspiration from seeing some no-name bidding hundreds of thousands of dollars in chips to bluff an intimidating world champion out of an enormous pot.
"Texas Hold 'em is deceptively easy to play," said World Series of Poker spokesman Nolan Dalla, "but intrinsically difficult to master."
A player is dealt two cards. The rest is betting and guesswork, be it the card odds or reading the steely stares of opponents.
Take any or all of the five "community cards" to form a hand. The best hand wins based on poker's hierarchy -- royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, pair.
"My personal opinion, the game is 60 percent luck and 40 percent skill," Smith said. "But the hard part is mastering that skill."
Smith is smokin' these days. He's up more than $1,000 for 2004. He finished 2003 about $1,900 ahead. He keeps a daily computer ledger to monitor streaks.
It's of no consequence that playing poker for money anywhere other than in a casino is illegal in Indiana. Because police are usually called to a game for another reason, "protect and serve" doesn't equate to cracking down on "buddy" games in private residences and locations. Vice officers handle game enforcement on a complaint basis.
"How would you find them?" said Sgt. Steve Staletovich, Indianapolis Police spokesman. "It's a whole different world and almost impossible to get into."
Online games growing
When he can't scare up a game with the fellas, Smith joins the masses online about five nights per week. He expects as many as 42,000 players when logging onto partypoker.com, even as late as midnight. Card Player magazine owner Barry Shulman says more than 100,000 play Texas Hold 'em daily on the Internet, and about 1 million are signed up to play on a weekly basis.
Online players in search of poker greatness have a face to go with that dream. Chris Moneymaker, a 27-year-old unknown with the perfect poker name, became the talk of every household game when he paid a $40 buy-in online and won enough to earn him a spot in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Wearing shades to hide his eyes, the cool dude from Spring Hill, Tenn., stunned a world championship field to collect the $2.5 million first prize.
Hey, if some guy who had never before competed in a live tournament can strike it rich like that . . .
"That was the biggest moment in the history of poker," said Dalla, who has played for two decades. "We can't go out on court and shoot baskets against Michael Jordan, but anybody can sit down and play poker. To a certain extent, it's become the new American lottery, although skill is still a large component to success."
Two Hoosier professionals returning to the Series next week are Tony Popejoy of Logansport and Scott O'Bryan of Russiaville. They play in three or four pro events a year, but the World Series is the Super Bowl. More than 1,300 players will be in the hunt for a record first prize estimated at more than $3 million.
Popejoy, 31, has been playing the game for a decade, seriously for the past five years. This will be his fourth Series entry. He won a personal-best $250,000 in tour events last year, including $110,000 by winning the World Poker Open at Tunica, Miss.
"With the boom of poker popularity on television, people say 'I can do that.' It's the ultimate test to match wits against another player," said Popejoy, who makes a living at the game. "And there's only one way to keep score in poker. That's money."
Popejoy recalls a defining moment in last year's victory. He was bidding on a huge pot against world champion Doyle Brunson, the first player to ever win $1 million in a tournament. Popejoy had ace-jack, different suits, and correctly deduced Brunson had a pocket pair, two eights.
"It's like a rookie pitcher facing Barry Bonds," Popejoy said of baseball's prolific home run hitter. "It you can't take a 50-50 chance against a world champ, probably the greatest player to ever play, and you don't want to gamble, then you don't need to be here."
Popejoy went all-in. Brunson called. On the flop -- when the first three of the five community cards are turned over -- Popejoy got a jack. Collecting that pot gave him the chip advantage and momentum to win the tournament.
"At that point," Popejoy said, "I realized I had the potential to be as good as the world champions."
O'Bryan, 37, has been playing Texas Hold 'em since 1991. He's successfully self-employed -- the family runs a construction company -- so he doesn't need the money. O'Bryan has won about $250,000 in a year before, although the cards weren't as kind last year.
"The TV tour makes it look a lot easier than it is," O'Bryan said, alluding to how tournaments can last up to 10 hours per day for several days, but viewers are shown just the highlights. "Poker is about people and situations. It's not about cards. Those are just a byproduct."
Homework required
Popejoy and O'Bryan recommend that Moneymaker wannabes read. That's books, at first. But, inevitably, learn how to read the habits of every player at a table. Nothing, they say, replaces experience. They offer Texas Hold 'em lessons and can be contacted via e-mail at ttpope212@aol.com .
"You never think you know everything," O'Bryan said, "because you don't."
There's always a "bad beat" waiting on the "River." That is, a player can have favorable odds until the last card is turned and everything changes. Or a player lacking in confidence after a few bad beats is often easy prey for a bluff.
O'Bryan likes competing for bigger pots, but he's conflicted about the direction the pro game is headed. He says the cameras that show the players' two hole cards are "an invasion of privacy." And he recalls starting out in tour events in 1999 with $1,000 to $2,000 buy-ins. Now it's $10,000, like at the World Series.
"I didn't sign on for that," he said. "People can't afford it. Most people work for a living."
But players keep coming for more. In Indiana, where casinos were a $2.3 billion industry last year, half of the 10 casinos have poker rooms with Texas Hold 'em. Four of the seven poker tables at Evansville's Casino Aztar are Texas Hold 'em. Soon, it will be five. The room is packed from Thursday through Sunday with a lengthy waiting list.
Poker game takes hold on cable TV, in casinos, even at home
Jodi Moss (left) rakes in her chips during a Texas Hold 'em tourney sponsored by a student group at the University of Georgia. -- Jeff Blake / Associated Press
How to play
? Dealer deals two cards face-down -- the hole-cards -- to each player.
? First round of betting
? Dealer deals the "Flop" -- three cards face-up in the center of the table. These cards are community cards that all players use to make up their hand.
? Second round of betting
? Dealer deals a fourth card -- Fourth Street -- face-up in the middle.
? Third round of betting
? Dealer deals the fifth and final card -- the River -- face-up in the middle.
? Fourth round of betting
? Players make the best five-card hand out of the seven cards available to them -- two cards they have face-down and the five community cards face-up in the middle. Best poker hand wins the pot.
Hand rankings
From strongest to weakest:
? Royal flush: Ten through ace in sequence of the same suit. The best possible hand in Texas Hold 'em.
? Straight flush: Any five cards in sequence of the same suit.
? Four of a kind: Four cards of the same rank.
? Full house: A three of a kind and a pair.
? Flush: Five cards of the same suit.
? Straight: Five cards in sequence of mixed suits.
? Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank.
? Two pair: Two separate sets of two cards of the same rank.
? Pair: Two cards of the same rank.
By Phillip B. Wilson
phillip.wilson@indystar.com
April 14, 2004
Texas Hold 'em got hold of Chris Smith two years ago. Before poker, nights out with buddies meant a few beers.
"Now I go hang out with my buddies and make money," Smith said of the gaming sensation that's inspiring a card-dealing, chip-splashing country to bid with bravado and say, "All-in."
The 34-year-old Castleton mortgage company proprietor recently surprised his wife, Tina, by flipping $600 on their bed. The six "hundos" -- what Smith calls $100 -- were winnings from two Hold 'em nights with the guys.
"I thought you only played for $1 or $2," she said.
Those are the stakes, in the beginning. But most games are no limit, meaning a player in any hand can bid everything by saying, "All-in." The chips fly. And pots, as well as egos, grow. Tournaments with 10 players per table are held in basements, offices and clubs. Smith recently competed in a five-table event with 40 players.
It's not like the game is new -- the 32nd annual World Series of Poker begins on April 23 at Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas. But when television started capturing the action and ratings soared in the past year, it was as if Texas Hold 'em became popular overnight. Local players like Smith can tune in on a weekly basis and see the top pros compete on ESPN at the World Series or on the Travel Channel's "World Poker Tour."
Series broadcasts in July and August averaged more than 1.2 million viewers, according to an ESPN representative. The WPT, the highest-rated show in Travel Channel history, attracted more than 1 million for a championship tournament in June.
Viewers quickly pick up the game's basics. They see the pros' two "hole" cards, through the use of "lipstick" cameras at the edge of where the players sit. Advantage percentages are calculated next to player names. Novices gain inspiration from seeing some no-name bidding hundreds of thousands of dollars in chips to bluff an intimidating world champion out of an enormous pot.
"Texas Hold 'em is deceptively easy to play," said World Series of Poker spokesman Nolan Dalla, "but intrinsically difficult to master."
A player is dealt two cards. The rest is betting and guesswork, be it the card odds or reading the steely stares of opponents.
Take any or all of the five "community cards" to form a hand. The best hand wins based on poker's hierarchy -- royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, pair.
"My personal opinion, the game is 60 percent luck and 40 percent skill," Smith said. "But the hard part is mastering that skill."
Smith is smokin' these days. He's up more than $1,000 for 2004. He finished 2003 about $1,900 ahead. He keeps a daily computer ledger to monitor streaks.
It's of no consequence that playing poker for money anywhere other than in a casino is illegal in Indiana. Because police are usually called to a game for another reason, "protect and serve" doesn't equate to cracking down on "buddy" games in private residences and locations. Vice officers handle game enforcement on a complaint basis.
"How would you find them?" said Sgt. Steve Staletovich, Indianapolis Police spokesman. "It's a whole different world and almost impossible to get into."
Online games growing
When he can't scare up a game with the fellas, Smith joins the masses online about five nights per week. He expects as many as 42,000 players when logging onto partypoker.com, even as late as midnight. Card Player magazine owner Barry Shulman says more than 100,000 play Texas Hold 'em daily on the Internet, and about 1 million are signed up to play on a weekly basis.
Online players in search of poker greatness have a face to go with that dream. Chris Moneymaker, a 27-year-old unknown with the perfect poker name, became the talk of every household game when he paid a $40 buy-in online and won enough to earn him a spot in the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Wearing shades to hide his eyes, the cool dude from Spring Hill, Tenn., stunned a world championship field to collect the $2.5 million first prize.
Hey, if some guy who had never before competed in a live tournament can strike it rich like that . . .
"That was the biggest moment in the history of poker," said Dalla, who has played for two decades. "We can't go out on court and shoot baskets against Michael Jordan, but anybody can sit down and play poker. To a certain extent, it's become the new American lottery, although skill is still a large component to success."
Two Hoosier professionals returning to the Series next week are Tony Popejoy of Logansport and Scott O'Bryan of Russiaville. They play in three or four pro events a year, but the World Series is the Super Bowl. More than 1,300 players will be in the hunt for a record first prize estimated at more than $3 million.
Popejoy, 31, has been playing the game for a decade, seriously for the past five years. This will be his fourth Series entry. He won a personal-best $250,000 in tour events last year, including $110,000 by winning the World Poker Open at Tunica, Miss.
"With the boom of poker popularity on television, people say 'I can do that.' It's the ultimate test to match wits against another player," said Popejoy, who makes a living at the game. "And there's only one way to keep score in poker. That's money."
Popejoy recalls a defining moment in last year's victory. He was bidding on a huge pot against world champion Doyle Brunson, the first player to ever win $1 million in a tournament. Popejoy had ace-jack, different suits, and correctly deduced Brunson had a pocket pair, two eights.
"It's like a rookie pitcher facing Barry Bonds," Popejoy said of baseball's prolific home run hitter. "It you can't take a 50-50 chance against a world champ, probably the greatest player to ever play, and you don't want to gamble, then you don't need to be here."
Popejoy went all-in. Brunson called. On the flop -- when the first three of the five community cards are turned over -- Popejoy got a jack. Collecting that pot gave him the chip advantage and momentum to win the tournament.
"At that point," Popejoy said, "I realized I had the potential to be as good as the world champions."
O'Bryan, 37, has been playing Texas Hold 'em since 1991. He's successfully self-employed -- the family runs a construction company -- so he doesn't need the money. O'Bryan has won about $250,000 in a year before, although the cards weren't as kind last year.
"The TV tour makes it look a lot easier than it is," O'Bryan said, alluding to how tournaments can last up to 10 hours per day for several days, but viewers are shown just the highlights. "Poker is about people and situations. It's not about cards. Those are just a byproduct."
Homework required
Popejoy and O'Bryan recommend that Moneymaker wannabes read. That's books, at first. But, inevitably, learn how to read the habits of every player at a table. Nothing, they say, replaces experience. They offer Texas Hold 'em lessons and can be contacted via e-mail at ttpope212@aol.com .
"You never think you know everything," O'Bryan said, "because you don't."
There's always a "bad beat" waiting on the "River." That is, a player can have favorable odds until the last card is turned and everything changes. Or a player lacking in confidence after a few bad beats is often easy prey for a bluff.
O'Bryan likes competing for bigger pots, but he's conflicted about the direction the pro game is headed. He says the cameras that show the players' two hole cards are "an invasion of privacy." And he recalls starting out in tour events in 1999 with $1,000 to $2,000 buy-ins. Now it's $10,000, like at the World Series.
"I didn't sign on for that," he said. "People can't afford it. Most people work for a living."
But players keep coming for more. In Indiana, where casinos were a $2.3 billion industry last year, half of the 10 casinos have poker rooms with Texas Hold 'em. Four of the seven poker tables at Evansville's Casino Aztar are Texas Hold 'em. Soon, it will be five. The room is packed from Thursday through Sunday with a lengthy waiting list.
