Page 16 - September 2004 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
POKER CRAZY
...Continued from page 13
rst active player to the left of the dealer button. e minimum bet for this round is again two dollars.
The Turn
When the betting round after the op is completed, the dealer turns a fourth card face up in the middle of the table. is is referred to as the “ Turn.” e minimum bet after the turn is now four dollars and begins again with the rst active player to the left of the dealer.
The River
Following the betting round for the turn, the dealer will turn a fth and nal card face up. is is called the “river,” and the nal betting round begins with four dollars being the minimum bet.
The Showdown
To determine the winner, the players may use any combination of their two hole cards and the ve cards on the “Board” (Table) to form the highest ve-card hand. In some rare cases the best hand will be the ve cards on board. Don’t count on that happening too often. In that case the active players will split the pot. A sixth card is never used to break a tie.
Trend or not, for now the Hold’em craze continues and is still growing. Learning to play winning Texas Hold’em
requires reading and studying. If you read just one book about the game you will be ahead of about 80 percent of the other payers at the table. Spending the money for a good poker book is a lot cheaper than trying to get your education at the tables in a live game. ese tips and how to play information are from the accalimed Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold’em by Bill Burton.
More Poker Games
But lest you think Texas Hold’em is the only game in town, here’s a look another poker game Southern California casino players love to play.
Pai Gow Poker — An Asian favorite, Pai Gow is steeped in Asian superstitions, and many players think it originated in China. But Pai Gow poker was rst dealt in 1985, in a Southern California card room. A blend of ancient Asian in uences and straight-ahead poker, Pai Gow has become, over the years, a wildly popular game from Las Vegas to
Atlantic City, Macao to Southern California.
Pai Gow is actually an ancient Chinese domino game that means “near nine.” Pai Gow was combined with Puy Soy, a Chinese card game where players receive 13 cards and cut them into three poker hands. ey then played against a banker’s three hands. e game’s inventor thought
a 13-card game would be too slow. So instead he created a game where players could play two hands: One with ve cards, the other with two. Players beating the bank’s two hands would win. So, Pai Gow poker is a fusion of Eastern and Western in uences, the idea of splitting the hands came from the ancient pai gow domino game, and the aces- high ranking system was borrowed from straight-ahead poker. Asian gamblers enjoy Pai Gow poker’s fast pace and its rituals, including the heavy, brass dice cup that players slam to the poker table to determine where the deal starts.
See page 16 for a quick view of how to play Pai Gow Poker. And don’t’ miss Sycuan Resort & Casino’s Pai Gow’s 21st Anniversary Celebration starting September 12th.
Also, see page 19 for a list of Southern California casino card plays, including Texas Hold’em and all other table games. Check out the list of Texas Hold’em tournaments on page 9. Texas Hold’em is the constant draw at Southern California card rooms, some of which actually host World Poker Tour events. Notable Southern California card rooms, where you can rub elbows (literally) with reigning Hold’em stars include Bicycle Casino, Commerce Casino, Hollywood Park Casino and others.
Bill Burton is the Casino Gambling Guide and columnist for the Internet portal About.com. He also writes for several national gambling publications. He is the author of Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold’em available for $15 postage paid. Send checks to Bill Burton, PO Box 310299, Newington, CT 06131-0299 or online at www.billburton.com.
Rozz Landis says she is one of the biggest bluffers around. A cultural observer and card room and Indian casino Hold’em player, she is a free-lance writer in Southern California.
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September 2004