h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Texas Hold'em - A3892188
Author: n_sani_t - U1489635

I think this is 'finished' aside from perhaps typos and grammar (not my strong points).

I dont think I did, but i may have taken for granted my knowledge of the terminology. Please advise if so.

its sound enough,well written.
a couple of things though....
you should explain what the flop is in "the mechanics of the game" and not just in the terminology section.
you should also explain that hold em is a variation of 7 card stud, therefor each player must make his best 5 card hand from his 2 hole cards(down cards) and the board(the 5 community cards)
in the terminology section...2 obvious omissions-ante and pass.
nice to see the holy game getting a shout on the site though.cheers.

Looks good.

How about some basic tactics, descriptions of how some people play the game - particularly where these are specific to hold em.

sprout

I've considered writing an entry on this subject for a while but never did because I've haven't ever played the game, and all I know about it is what I've seen on TV. However, if I did I don't think I'd write it in this format - process followed by glossary, both in lists. That sort of approach can be confusing to the complete novice who has no knowledge of the game, IMO. I like narrative

I'd prefer to see an entry with a play-by-play description of how a hand is played, starting with the blinds and ending with the winning of the pot, plus a few paragraphs of other game information not directly related to the playing of a hand.

A section on tactics would certainly be a plus, although it would be your decision just how far to take that one because it can be such a complicated aspect of the subject.

Looks good to me too , a couple of things I noticed:

- I agree that some of the terminology (like 'flop' and 'blind') should go before the "Mechanics of the game".

"For pot-limit, if there is $100 in the pot, you bet the maximum ($100) that makes the pot $200. I can them match the pot again and raise the amount to $200."

- "then" instead of "them", but I think the numbers have got a bit confused somewhere. If you bet the maximum of $100 dollars to raise the pot to $200, then if the next person bets $200 dollars (which they can) then the pot is raised to $400.

- When I've played hold'em we've increased the small and big blinds with time as the game goes on (so you start with blinds of $5 and $10, say, and then every 20 minutes or so you increase them by some previously agreed amount), maybe you could mention this somewhere?

- Although you've said the document isn't about strategy, maybe you could mention what constitutes a good hand (i.e. a hand you would maybe go all-in on if the rules allowed you to) and also what constitutes a band hand (i.e. something you'd fold immediately) then that wouldn't be too much extra and doesn't really go into the strategy a great deal.

[Talking of strategy, from limited experience the best way to win against a better player is to act randomly! ]

Wow, you guys are fast! I'll do a quick rundown of your points...

flop description in mechanics - done
you are not required to use your hole cards in hold'em (in omaha however, you are), see step 13 in mechanics
pass - added
ante - never seen it in hold'em outside of tournament play. Perhaps I should mentioned that the entry was intended to be describing the basics of a ring/cash game. I'm considering an entry for tournament poker.

I will add a few good and bad starting hands, but I do not want to go deep into strategy, I think it will make the entry overly complex and too verbose to be absorbed by a novice player.

I actually considered doing a play-by-play style entry, but there are too many possible combinations of things that could happen that might make the whole thing more confusing. I may add a play-by-play of a quick hand if I can figure a way to write is clearly.

increasing the blinds doesnt happen in a live/ring/cash game. In tournament style play it does, typically 15min or 20min intervals.

nice 1,actually blind increases is a bone of contention, from house games to big tournies,i think i'll do a piece on poker including strategy,history,variations and so on,i'll need a few days tho...1 thing i would say,to learn poker you have to play poker,but good books to start with are...doyle brunsons super/system,also al alvarez's the biggest game in town, which isnt a manuel but still a great read.good thread this,my kind of action,cheers guys.

I've added most of what was suggested, thanks to all who took the time to read the entry.

I added a play-by-play description of a sample hand. It's pretty sound regarding the rules and order of play, but the end results are not very realisitic (three full houses?).

I added a list of some starting hands and their relative strength. While you'll see some professional players on TV play hands differently, this list is intended for the novice or common home game or low-limit player.

I also added a few terms in the Terminology section. I was unable to find where I used the terms, but they are jargon you may hear while playing.

I've got a problem with the names of the players that you've chosen to illustrate your example. To me, because several of them are phonetically similar, I can't distinguish between them as I'm working my way through the text.

How about Andrew, Brian, Claire, David, Elaine and Fred instead? Or any combination ABCDEF of your choice, if you don't like the names that I've suggested.

Nice article; can't think of anything to say that hasn't been said!

I hate Texas hold-em, though. Until the advent of casinos & cable TV, five or seven card stud was the most popular form of poker on the planet... fewer terms to learn, more challanging (in my opinion), and the chance to trade in cards if you want! For even crappier cards, in my case; but still, I like having the option!!!

Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever tried to play strip hold-em poker?

I updated the names. I used the ABCDEF format, but chose names to leave the sex of the player the same. This made the editing easier as I only have to do a name change, not change his->her and she->he (and vice versa).

I like the example hand section - very good.



sprout

this might be a bit pedantic but the use of the word mechanic is dubious as the word itself is poker jargon for a cheat,someone who who manipulates the deck whilst dealing...just thought you should know...

also...the example hand is wandering into the realms of fantasy, as the chances of those hands all coming out in a short handed game and then all becoming full houses is highly unlikely,the betting you described is also unrealistic as if this was a real hand the actual betting would go through the roof,also in fixed limit poker,the betting is capped in each round,i think the bet can be raised 4 times max in each round,im not trying to give you a headache,just letting you know.cheers.

I didn't get far past the first paragraph yet.

The second sentence:

While cliche, the phrase, "It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master," is the best statement to reply with when someone says they cannot learn to play.

should be severely rewritten.

Friar

OK, in section two:

The small blind is 1/2 of the minimum bet, usually rounded to the nearest dollar (or other unit of currency).
Big Blind - This term is used to refer to both the bet and the table position. The big blind is the same as the maximum bet, usually rounded.

Big blind is not the max bet. It is the initial bet of the first round of betting. Technically it is the minimum bet.

Friar, more to come

The use of a SUBHEADER for the Order of Play section would format it pretty well I think.

Friar, still more to come. . .

In the Order of Play, you may want to mention that in a typical cash game with more than two players, action is called after four bets. I'm not all the way done yet, so you may mention this later. If so, my bad

Friar

In the section that describes the kinds of games you say of a 5/10 no limit game that the minimun bet is 10. You may also mention that these games often have prescribed buy-ins. For example, 2/4 100 no-limit. This is the typical (at least a common) way no-limit cash games happen.

Friar