Raising the stakes, my masterclass in poker

11:08am Tuesday 13th May 2008

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IT began with a tingle, grew to a shiver, then became fully fledged bubble of excitement as the cards turned over.

I was in the grip of poker fever and had my sight set on scooping the pot.

Confident in the hand that had been dealt - two nines in my hand and one on the table thank you very much, I raised the stakes.

My opponent called the bet, matching my stake and calling what he hoped would be a bluff.

I allowed myself an indulgent inner smile as I revealed the winning' hand with a self satisfied flourish.

Just moments later that satisfaction and my grip on the pot of chips was well and truly demolished, as my wily opponent laid bare three kings, laughing in the face of my humble nines.

This was my first taste of poker and it was easy to see the thrill of the game that has steadily risen in recent years both online and in real life.

Adam Lawler, casino manager at Maxims Casino had agreed to teach me the basics of the card game which he describes as " taking a minute to learn but a long time to master"

Adam, 30, has been in the casino business for more than 11 years, thanks to his parent's working in the industry and he started out as a croupier.

He says: "Poker is very easy to learn and very easy to play but it does involve lots of subtleties as well."

The game itself has a glamorous image thanks largely to films such as Casino Royale, Ocean's Eleven and the latest Kevin Spacey thriller 21 currently showing at the cinema, where wealth, beauty and cunning combine both on and off the table .

"People do associate it with glamour because of the Hollywood aspect I suppose," says Adam, " but many people just enjoy it for the game itself."

The poker we were playing is called Texas Hold'em and is one of the most popular poker games in the world.

Adam says: "It has been around for about 35 years but only really took off in the UK and Europe about five years ago, but it has always been big in the US.

The birth of online and television poker games has increased in interest in game and the casino in Eastern Esplanade, Westcliff has a card room dedicated to it with 14 gaming tables set aside for Texas Hold'em and recently hosted its first big tournament were the winning pot was a cool £200,000 "Poker does involve a gamble of course," says Adam, "but there is still a degree of skill involved as well as a little luck.

"You need an understanding of mathematics to work out the percentage of odds and to calculate whether it is worth calling' the bet.

The game begins when the players pull a card each in the one with the highest becomes the dealer' and a button is placed in front of them.

The players are dealt two cards each, face down which are know as the hole cards and the first round of betting takes place.

The player immediately to the dealer's left places what is called a big blind the first bet of the game which is a forced wager to get the pot started before they have seen their cards.

The player next to them places the a small blind by either matching their bet or up the stakes.

The dealer button moves around as the game goes on to ensure everyone has to place the blinds at some stage.

Three community cards are then dealt face up in the middle of the table.

Adam says: "This is called the flop and there is a second round of betting. A fourth community card is dealt and a fifth, with a round of betting taking place after each."

The players use any of the five community cards and their two hole cards to form the best five card hand.

"The ultimate hand of course is the royal flush where you have all the high cards of the same suit running in order," explains Adam.

"Bluffing is also a big part of the game and the skill comes in being able to read other people's "tells" the little signs they unknowingly give that they have a good or a bad hand."

The most common according to Adam is trying to bluff you hand is better than it is in order to get the other players top fold in the belief you have a winning hand.

"Strong often means weak in poker," he reveals "if someone is playing aggressively it often means they do have a great hand."

No such fears for me as I failed to win a single hand throughout my lesson, thanks largely I believe to be hustled by Steve our photographer, who claimed also never to have played before yet was surprisingly knowledgeable about the game.

The chips may have been down on this occasion but with a bit more practice, especially on honing my poker' face I may demand a rematch.

Now where did I leave that copy of Casino Royale?

Poker hands:

Royal flush: high cards (ace, king, queen, jack) of the same suit in number sequence

Straight flush: cards of the same suit in number sequence

Four of a kind: cards of the same value (eg four kings)

Full house: three cards of one value, two of another

Flush: all cards are of the same suit

Straight: cards are in number sequence, but not of the same suit

Three of a kind: three cards of the same value

Two pair: two pairs of cards with the same value (eg king, king and ace, ace)

Pair: two cards with the same value

Learning the lingo:

All-in: this is when a player bets all of his chips

Big blind: this is the original bet that everyone must call otherwise fold their hand before seeing any community cards. This also refers to the player that has to put in this amount at the start before he sees his cards ("blind")

Call: this is when a player matches a bet that another player has made

Chips: these are the little round disks used to represent money used in the game

Community cards: these are the cards that are in the middle of the table in a game of Texas Hold'em - these cards can be used by all player in conjunction with their own cards

Flop: this is the first three community cards turned - these three cards are turned at once when the first round of betting is over

Fold: this means to throw away your cards and take no further part in the hand

Pot: this is the total chips that have been betted and put in the middle in a game

Raise or raising: to raise means to bet more than the previous bet; meaning that the next player has to put more chips in the middle or else fold