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This coming Friday, I'm going to be playing some poker with my friends. We will probably bet a small amount (£5 or so) and I was wondering if anyone has any little tips or anything. (Not that I'm one to 'cheat'...)

Just to let you know it's unlikely that I'm going to be the dealer so I won't be able to 'mess' with the cards that much.

Even if you could, I wouldn't. At 16 you won't have the skills to pull off any kind of false dealing.


Play carefully and don't be rash.

Yeah... I don't think I would anyway, too risky! And I would probably get noticed. It'll be a friendly game anyway.

If you and your friends are playing properly, then you should take it in turns to be the dealer. The strongest seats to be in are to the right of the dealer (i.e. furthest from him and therefore last to bet with the exception of the dealer himself) and getting progressively weaker as you get nearer to him. If you're closest to the dealer, only bother playing really good hands and the further you are away, the more risks you can take.

If you're new to it, don't ever bother bluffing. Chances you'll screw it up or come of considerably worse for wear.

If you're playing hold em, fold if your initial two hands are anything worse than a mid to high pair or anything other than a combination of 9 to ace. Once the flop is down, if your holding nothing, fold. Chances are you won't be making tons of cash using these tactics but you should be losing a lot less than everyone else.

If you were older, I'd suggest moderating your consumption of alcohol whilst trying to get everyone else totally smashed- that's when you move in for the kill.

I could give you a few hints on how to 'stack the odds in your favour' but I really can't condone cheating and there is always a possibility that I might end up playing cards with you in the future and I wouldn't want to give any of my 'tactics' away.

You know those poker chips that most people use for poker games?



Well, those chips are magnetic.

My advice would be to have fun, even if that means losing your fiver.

I've played a fair few friendly games of poker with mates at uni, £5 buy in, and the best ones are when people loosen up a bit and have a go at bluffing, taking chances etc. The worst ones are when people play defensively all night, are reluctant to put the blinds up, and you wind up moving pathetic amounts of chips between a few players at 4am quite frankly wishing you were in bed. Or even that you'd gone to the cinema instead.

if your friends money is important to you, get one other of them in on the cheat, and teach him a code...then when you're dealing, put the 'work' in...

or just not bother and enjoy the game...

you can also practice your card counting technique...