Sean Chaffin is a full-time freelance writer based in Ruidoso, New Mexico. He covers poker, gambling, the casino industry, and numerous other topics. Follow him on Twitter at @PokerTraditions and email him at seanchaffin@sbcglobal.net.
Sean Chaffin
's Articles
In Short Deck poker all deuces, threes, fours, and fives are removed from the deck – leaving 36 cards to play with, which can result in a more action-packed game.
Even though only 4 to 8 per cent poker tournament players are women, the ladies want to play. Here’s a quick guide to setting up your own Ladies Poker Night.
In poker a check raise is where a player raises after already checking on the current betting round. It is often considered a deceptive play because it involves a passive action (checking) followed by an aggressive action (raising). A check raise is really just two actions strung together, a check followed by a raise.
A big bet is the larger of two different fixed bet sizings used in fixed limit poker games. A big bet is twice the size of the big blind in game such as fixed limit Hold’em and Omaha. Depending on the betting round, either the small bet sizing or the big bet sizing will be used. In Hold’em, the small bet sizing is used on the flop while the big bet sizing is used for the turn and river.
In poker, the term bet means to wager our chips by placing them into the centre of the table. Although raises and calls are both types of bet, the term bet is generally used to describe a situation where we make the first wager on the current betting round. For example, if we make the first wager on the flop, it’s described as ‘making a bet’. All further bets on that betting round will typically be described either as raises or calls. In more general terms betting refers to the activity of making wagers on the outcome of any event, whether it be a card game or something completely unrelated.
An ante is an amount of chips that every player must place into the pot before any cards are dealt. Posting antes is quite similar to posting blinds, but everyone has to post them, not just certain seats at the table. We find antes in both cash games and tournaments, but they are generally more common in tournaments during the later stages. The exception is that some variants such as Studuse antes as part of the basic rules rather than using a small-blind/big-blind system like Hold’em Omaha.