The player on the left of the dealer beings the poker game by putting up an agreed amount, known as the ante. For convenience we will assume that it is one chip. The player on his left then puts up a straddle of two chips. Throughout the game every player puts his chips on the table in front of him.

The dealer now deals, face downwards, five cards to each player. After looking at his cards, the player on the left of the straddle has the option of playing or No-Trumps. If he decides No-Trumps to play he throws his cards face downwards towards the centre of the table, and takes no further interest in the deal in progress.

If he decides to play he puts up four chips. The player on his left now has the choice of throwing in his hand, coming into the game for four chips, or doubling (i.e. coming into the game for eight chips).

In the same way, in turn, every player has the choice of throwing in his poker hand, coming into the game for the same stake as the previous player, or raising the stakes until the agreed maximum is reached.

When staking reaches the ante and straddle, they can either throw in their hands and sacrifice what they have already put up, or come into the game by raising their stakes to the appropriate amount.

If no player comes into the game, the straddle recovers his two chips and takes the one chip put up by the ante.

Staking continues for some little time, because if a player has come into the game and a subsequent player has doubled, it is open to those who have already staked to increase their stakes, and this progressive jackpot staking continues until no-one increases the stakes or the agreed limit is reached.

When all have staked, those left in the game have the chance to improve their hands by exchanging cards. The dealer ignores those who have already thrown in their hands, but gives all the other players in turn as many cards as they wish after they have discarded those cards that they do not wish to retain.

A player may discard any number of his cards, but no experienced player would remain in the game to exchange four cards, and only one who has taken leave of his senses will do so to exchange all five cards. Most players will exchange one, two, or three cards.

When cards have been exchanged , the player who was first to come in begins the betting and gaming. Either he throws in his hand (sacrificing the stake he has already made to come in), checks (signifies his intention to remain in the game without increasing his stake) or raises (increase his stake to any amount up to the agreed limit).

If he checks, all the players who follow him have, in their turn, the same choice. If no-one raises those left in the game show their cards and the player with the best hand takes all that has been staked.

If a player raises, the subsequent players, in turne, have the option of throwing in their hands, putting up sufficient chips to meet the raise, or raise still further.

In this way the betting continues, until the final bet is either called or not. If the final bet is called, the players left in the game show their cards and the player with the best poker hand wins all that has been staked: if the final bet is No-Trumps called, the player whose bet has No-Trumps called, the player whose bet has No-Trumps been called wins all that has been staked with no need to show his hand.

Poker falls naturally into two parts: the staking and the betting. The staking is the easier part of the game because it is open to a precise arithmetical analysis. We may suppose that a player is dealt:

♠ 10, ♠ 6, ♠ 5, ♠ 2, ♥ 9

Since a pair of 10s is of small value, the player’s aim must be to discard the ♥ 9 hoping to draw a spade to fill the flush.

There are 47 cards from which to draw, and of them only nine are spades. It follows, therefore, that the odds against drawings a spade are 38 to 9, or approximately 4 ¼ to1.

If three players have come into the game with four chips each, making 15 chips on the table with the ante and straddle, it is No-Trumps worth while playing because it costs four chips to come in so that the table is offering odds to 15 to 4 (3 ¾ to 1) and the chance of improving is 4 ¼ to 1,

If, however, four players have come in it will be just worth while coming into the game, because now there will be 19 chips on the table so that the table is offering off of 4 ¾ to 1, which is better than the odds and implied odds against improving.