five-card hand against the five-card hands of the other players. Whatever cards remain after choosing the five to be played are of no consequence in determining the winner.
• Hands are ranked first by category, then by individual card ranks.
That is, even the minimum qualifying hand in a certain category defeats all hands in all lower categories. The smallest Two pair hand, for example, defeats all hands with just One pair or No pair. Only between two hands in the same category are card ranks used to break ties.
• The order in which cards are dealt is unimportant.
For ease of explanation, hands are shown here neatly arranged, but a poker hand is the same no matter what order the cards are received in.
DEAD MONEY
In Poker, Dead money is the amount of money in the pot other than the equal amounts bet by active remaining players in that pot. For example, money that was put there by players who are no longer eligible to win it because they have folded, or an odd chip left in the pot from a previous deal. For example, 8 players each Ante $1, one player opens for $2, and gets two callers, making the pot total $14. Three players are now in the pot having contributed $3 each, for $9 "live" money; the remaining $5 (representing the antes of the players who folded) is dead money.
The amount of dead money in a pot affects the pot odds of plays or rules of thumb that are based on the number of players. For example, a common rule of thumb used by many Omaha players is that one should raise with a nut low hand on the last round only if there are four players in the pot, and just call if there are only three. But if there is considerable dead money in the pot, this changes the odds to favor raising even with only three players.
The term "dead money" is also used in a derogatory sense to refer to money put in the pot by players who are still legally eligible to win it, but who are unlikely to do so because they are unskilled. This can also be applied to the player himself: Let's invite John every week; he's dead money. The term "dead money" also applies in tournaments, when a player enters who has no chance of winning. For example, in the World Series of Poker, many players win their entry in a satellite tournament against good opponents, but have no chance against the top pros they will meet in the main event.
FREEROLL
A freeroll is a situation that arises during play (usually when only two players remain) before the last card has been dealt, in which one player is guaranteed to at least split the pot with his opponent no matter what the final cards are, but where there is some chance he can win the whole pot if certain final cards are dealt. This most commonly occurs in a High-low split game where one player knows that he has a guaranteed low hand made, his opponent cannot make a better low no matter what the last card is, but the player who is low might possibly catch a lucky card that gives him a straight or flush, winning high as well.
If a player knows he has a freeroll, he can raise the pot with impunity, and often a less-skilled opponent with a good hand who does not realize that he is on the wrong end of the freeroll will continue to put in raises with no possible hope of gain.
The term is also used to describe a tournament with no entry fee.
|
