The sun., 1908-05-17
FIFTY.THREE CARD POKER

FETY-ThREE CARD PUkER
DIFFERENCEs THE JOKER MAKES
@ IN THE CANE, .
Three lipies 20 Bear in Mina--Tne Altered
0dds-Better Hands. More Uncertainty
In tho Psay sni Rsero GTres..ss:ssssses
FE for kiiihass Than m the Ola Gaass.
The popularity Of poker with . joker Ia
the pack seems TO be continually iacreasing
In spite Of tho protests OF the old fogies who
dislike anything in the way Of changes in
their favorite game, In this history but
repeats Itself. f.t
There was big row when It was frst
proposed 70 play IL with flfty-two cards
instead OF twenty. When tho draw waa
introduced during the OWL war the old
stakers announced that the game was
ruined, ant there are many players to-day
who win not play anything but tho old
game straight poker. with straights barred.
Many players still living can remember
the howl OK protest that went up In the
early '70s when tho jack pot made its APP
pearanoet People demonstrated that IL
or the game. freedom OF conscience In the
matter OF coming In or staying out Of every
pot In the old days the fellow that waited
for tens or better had steady percentage
OF two-elevenths Of all the money on the
table In his favor all the time when he was
opposed to those that carne in on any
thing, *
Jack pots. says Blackburn, .havs turned
poker from game into q lottery. with
condition which the lottery system lacks-
that all the players must buy tioketa.'
About the Same time that tho jack pot
was invented another OF the most popular
OF modern improvements came into vogue
by leaving the joker in the pack. In spite
Of the popularity Of this variety Of poker
it 10 almost entirely ignored by the text
books. mono OF which enters into details or
gives the odds for and against getting cor
tain hands. Neither do they lgive any
examples which would enable person to
decide the many disputes that come up a.
to the comparative value Of certain hands.
There are three principal rules which
govern poker with joker. and with thor
oush understanding Of these rules any
person should be able TO settle any dispute
which may arise at the game. These rules
are:
|, The holder OF the jotar may call IT any
oard he pleases.
2. In case OF ties The joker wins.
8. The holder Of the Joker may call 1t
duplicate of card which 10 already In his
hand.
Simple as these rules may appear. 1t is
astonishing how often people get confused
when they come to apply them in practice.
A few examples from actual play will prob
ably illustrate better than anything else
the application Of these rules to various
kinds Of hands.
FIRST nuLs. fA.
As the player holding the joker may,
call It anything he pleases, q king and Joker
may be pair Of kings; two aces and the
joker may be three aces, or four Of q suit
he has bobtail straight With the joker
he can,flll out either end or the middle at
pleasure. Consequently II he has four cards
Of q straight flush with tho joker he can
call the joker both sise and suit, 20 a. TO
All out his hand enough to beat four Of q
As the holder may call the joker any
thing he pleases. 10 Ii obvious that no matter
what card he nanes there must be five Of
that denomination in the pack. therefore
five being in one hand and Determine what
such hand is worth "a compared to
straight flush.
The odds against straight flushes are
found by taking the number Of possible
5,5es $50. and dividing this number by the
number Of possible straight hushes. which
is 40 This gives the odds against the
straight hush as 04.973 TO |.
The addition Of the joker to the pack
gives 270,72S more hands. raising the total
xnfr hay da Ia. IL
which only ls can be Ave Of kind. The
odds, therefore. against five Of a kind being
held are 220,744 to I, which conclusively
proves that five Of a kind should always
beat a straight flush.
SECOND RULE.
In case Of ties the joker wins. II one
player holds q natural pair Of kings and
s9o!her o holds I'D. sid king and joker The Joker
another has q straight Of the same value
with the joker in II the joker straight wins.
The same IL true Of ties In dushes. There
are 10 such things as two pair hands made
with the joker. for reasons which will be
explained presently.
In American brag, In which there were
eight braggers, 1t was the rule that q natural
pair would beat pair Of the same denomi-
nation made up with a bragger. Many
persons who have played brag insist that
joker. but the cases are not similar.
In brag, with a king to drav-to, the player
had three chances to get natural card
and eight 30 get a ,bragger, so that the
odds were against the natural pair. But
natural pair and only one to get the bragger,
80 that the odds are against the bragger,
and for that reason the pair made up with
the aid OF the bragger or joker wins in
It Is important 10 remember that tho
Hold - kha al .x.rtn ktx.n xI>kk