Some Interesting Poker Facts
- The Chinese were the first to invent playing cards.
- In 1937 “A Fifth Suit” was added, it never took off since players had to purchase all the new decks.
- Poker is played frequently by 65 million U.S citizens.
- Aces and Eights are better known as “Dead man’s” hand.
- When a player gets dealt a Ten and a Deuce it is also known as” Doyle Brunson”, because he won two consecutive World Series of Poker events with this hand.
- In the 1800s, there were approximately 2,500 riverboat casinos offering poker on American Waterways. At the time “A straight” beat a “Flush”.
- Casinos in Las Vegas are not legally compelled to settle their gambling debts.
- As a result of French influence: Spades signify Royalty, Diamonds signify Merchants, Clubs signify the peasants and hearts signify the clergy.
- Edmond Hoyle lived to be 97 and passed away 150 years before the invention of Poker.
- During the 1300’s card playing was introduced in Europe.
- When Christopher Columbus arrived in North America in 1492, his men picked wide leaves from trees, drew pictures on them and played cards.
- Historians agree that Bill Hickock was a dreadful poker player.
- Groucho Marx got his name, since he carried his poker money in a “grouch bag”.
- During WWII, Ex- President Richard Nixon won $6,000 playing poker during his first two months in the U.S. Navy. This amount more or less equates to $50,000 in 2010. Nixon used his poker winnings to fund his presidential campaign, when he ran for the U.S. Congress in 1946 which he won.
Tips for Progressive Video Poker players:
- Only 21% of the hands that are dealt in video poker win for example Jacks or better whilst 79% are downright dogs. In essence this is the distinct difference between those who win and those who don’t. It’s up to the player to study poker and to groom the 79% of his/her hands into winning hands. Seek out Jacks or better machines that play 9 coins for a full house and six coins for a flush.
- Players should rather play progressives that pay 8 coins for a full house and 5 for a flush and where the jackpot is over $250 on a nickel machine, $2,500 on quarter and $10,000 for the dollar.
- Bet the maximum amount of coins to get the bonus for royal flushes.
- If you are a novice player, play the lowest denomination slot game until your level of skill improves.
- Don’t underestimate the Jack! The Ace is not the most important card in the deck. Holding the Jack over the Ace gives improves a player’s winning odds of making more lucrative hands than the Ace.
- Obtain video poker skills using either a PC or a hand-held video poker game. The added benefit from this training it hones your skills without financial risk or ruin. It’s best to learn video poker by playing Deuces Wild or Jacks-or-better.
- By no means keep a kicker with any pair. Holding a kicker to any pair reduces your chances of winning by 5%.
- By no means draw four cards if you can draw three to a royal flush.
- Don’t break a flush even if you can draw one to straight flush, however, break a flush to draw a “Royal Flush”.
- Don’t break a straight to draw a straight flush, never draw five if you have Jacks-or-better and don’t keep a Ten for a four card draw.
- Flop: Is the first three community cards dealt face up at the same time onto the table.
- Kicker: It is the top unpaired card in a player’s hand.
