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If a bridge player
gets into a bridge game, he knows more or less what to expect. The
players may be good or bad, but the form of the game and the laws
under which it is played will be constant. There is no standard
way of playing poker. The type of game, the rules, the etiquette,
the stakes, will vary from game to game. Every poker group is unique
and the game it plays is peculiar to itself. Therefore, before you
join a new group, it is wise to do a certain amount of reconnoitering.
The first thing you will want to know is the size of the game in
terms of money. Any of the regulars in the group will tell you what
is the maximum that anybody is likely to lose in an evening. This
depends on the value of the chips, the ante, the limit, the kinds
of poker played. Variations of Seven Card Stud, for example, produce
larger pots than Straight Stud and much larger than Draw.
As a very general rule, in a small-limit game, if the small chip
is worth a cent, you will be unlucky to lose much more than $8.00.
If the game is Pot Limit, you might lose $20. Note that there is
not too much difference in the maximum probable loss. That is because
in a large-limit game players bet far more cautiously.
Then you will want to know what variations are played. A staid,
conservative game will confine itself to Jackpots, Lowball, Five
Card Stud and Seven Card Stud. At the other extreme, the dealer
in some games is virtually allowed to make his own rules. An offbeat
group may play nothing but High-Low Stud.
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