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Stephen O'Malley 05-26-2009 07:40 AM

Aurora's Poker Guide For Beginners
 
So, you're a new pirate looking on how to gamble? Look here for the basics of Poker/ Tortuga Hold'em.

The Objective.
The objective of the game is to get the best hand out of all the other players, using the 5 cards that are thrown down by the dealer, and the 2 cards you are given. This game requires confidence, as well as a sharp mind when playing against other players, and/or the computer. Even if you don't like Poker, you're going to need it for quests, which means that there is little way to advance in the game without gambling.

The Hands.
Thanks to disney gaming technology, you have the ability to see what type of hand you have. The greater your hand, the more likely you are to win at poker. As far as numbers go, it goes from lowest to highest, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. Here is a list of the different hands you can have from the hands with the lowest value, to the hands with the highest value:
  • One Pair- Two cards that are the same value, but not suit.
  • Two Pair- Two one pairs.
  • 3 of a Kind- Three cards of the same value, but not same suit.
  • Straight- Five cards that are in order that start from any any number between two and ten, and continue in order to any number between six and ace. They do not have to be the same suit (I.E.-2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
  • Flush- Five cards of the same suit, not in any numerical order.
  • Full House- A combination of a 3 of a Kind, with a One Pair. When you have a Full House, it will usually be displayed as the 3 of a Kind, over the One Pair, I.E.- "3 over Ace".
  • 4 of a Kind- When you have all cards of same value in one deck.
  • Straight Flush- Five cards of all the same suit in numerical order. (ie: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 of Hearts)
  • Royal Flush- The biggest and rarest hand of all, it is the Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace, all of same suit.

Card Sub-Titles.
To add to the above, your hands will sometimes have the sub-titles "High", and "Kicker". These are here incase you and someone else gets the same hand. For example, if you get a One Pair of Aces, and so does your partner, the win can be determined upon these sub-titles. If you have a Jack High with your pair, and your partner has a Jack Kicker, you will win because you have High, or if you have an Ace High, and your partner has a Jack High, you will win because an Ace is higher than a Jack.

The Set-up.
There are three computer players, then there could be an additional 4 people playing as well. When you sit down, the round always starts out with a Big Blind and a Small Blind. The Big Blind is always double the amount of the Small Blind, and the amount of the Small Blind depends on the location of where you decide to play Poker. The Blinds is what makes up the Pot. The system of who makes the pot goes clockwise, so you can see who has to do the Small Blind, and Big Blind next. The Pot, is the total amount of gold all the computer and pirate players have bet, and is the number of gold you can get if you win the round. You can see what the Pot number is right above the cards played by the dealer.

The Game.
Finally! We are at the heart of how the game rolls. This is the most crucial section on how to become successful in poker.

The Keys
  • Fold- Allows you to leave the round, and you have to wait to the next game to play again.
  • Check- Your "request" to see the next card without placing more gold on the table. (passing on betting) You can only perform this move if no one has said they wanted to bet.
  • Call- Betting the same amount as the previous player. Your call can be Raised by the next player, and in order to continue, you will have to Call again when it is your turn.
  • Bet- You think that you could win the game, so you put down gold because you think the odds are in your favor.
  • Raise- Betting more gold than the previous player.
  • All-In- You're running low on gold, so this makes it so that you have to either bet all the gold you have left (if you have confidence), or fold.
  • Swap Card- This is if you know your numbers, and how to cheat. if you see an opportunity to switch your cards for a favorable hand, you can take it using this.

Part One- Place Yer Bets!
This is usually the first round. The Big and Small Blinds are placed, and all the players go around with only the cards in their hands either folding if they have no confidence, or raise/ calling if they think they have a good hand. Usually, if you have a really good hand, your pirate will do a "pumping fist" emotion, and if you have a bad hand, your player will shake his/ her head. It usually takes all of the players to say call in order to proceed to the next round. Using raise will keep the round going for a while, unless all of the players (including you) said call.

Part Two- Do I have a Chance?
When 3/4 of the players have said "Call", the dealer will throw down 3 cards. You can look down at your hand and see if your hand is good or not. The player who started will have the option to "Check" or "Raise". Usually, the computer will always choose "Check", unless it has a good hand, then the computer WILL ALWAYS choose Bet/ Raise. If the computer chooses Bet/ Raise, it is a good idea to fold right then and there, so you can keep yourself from losing more gold. Now, when its your turn, and the computer has chosen check for all of the computer players, you will have the option to Bet, or Check. If you're not too sure, click check, if you're confident, click bet. When all of the players have chosen Check, or 3/4 of the players have chosen Call, the dealer will throw down another card. Then this entire process repeats.

Part Three- The Last Round!
Ok, now there are 5 cards on the table. This is your last chance to Call/ Check/ Bet/ Raise/ Fold! After all of the players select Call, or all the players choose Check, everyone's cards will be unveiled, and everyone can see each their cards. The winner gets all the gold in the pot, and the losers get nothing. If there is a tie between 2 or more people, the gold will be split evenly.

Locations and Betting Amounts.
Port Royal- Rowdy Rooster-
  • Big Blind- 2 Gold
  • Small Blind- 1 Gold
  • Bets/Raise- 2-4 Gold
  • Call- 2-4 Gold

Port Royal- Royal Anchor-
  • Big Blind- 2 Gold
  • Small Blind- 1 Gold
  • Bets/Raise- 2-4 Gold
  • Call- 2-4 Gold

Tortuga- King's Arm-
  • Big Blind- 2 Gold
  • Small Blind- 1 Gold
  • Bets/Raise- 2-4 Gold
  • Call- 2-4 Gold

Tortuga- Faithful Bride-
  • Big Blind- 2 Gold
  • Small Blind- 1 Gold
  • Bets/Raise- 2-4 Gold
  • Call- 2-4 Gold

Cuba- La Bodeguita-
  • Big Blind- 10 Gold
  • Small Blind- 5 Gold
  • Bets/Raise- 10-20 Gold
  • Call- 10-40 Gold

Padres Del Fuego- Ratskeller-
  • Big Blind- 20 Gold
  • Small Blind- 10 Gold
  • Bets/Raise- 20-40 Gold
  • Call- 20-80 Gold

Set Limits For Yourself.
Just like with all gambling games, Pirates Online and in real life, you MUST set limits for yourself. You must make the decision before you sit down, of how much you want to win, and how much you're willing to lose. If you keep saying "just one more" to yourself, you're going to lose much more gold, regardless if you're on a winning streak. I have seen too many players on winning streaks, and then lose all their gold because they said "just one more". My suggestion is to set your goal of how much you want to win first, then half that amount and set that to how much you're willing to lose. I.E.- You have 10,000 Gold. You want to win 5,000 gold, so make it so that you are only willing to lose 2,500 gold. You will go no further than 15,000, and no lower than 7,500 gold.

Bluffing.
Bluffing can be the shortcut while playing poker. You should only bluff when its just you, and the three computer players. Most pirates will be able to tell if you're bluffing or not. When you bluff, you have to be consistent; if you're raising constantly, don't go to call or check in the middle of the game. Your objective it to scare away all the computer players, forcing them to all fold, and making you get all the gold instantly, much like how you pass gold (see section below).

When to Bluff.
The best time to bluff is when you see all the other players checking. When all the other players check, that tells you that the players are unsure of their hand. This is the perfect opportunity to start betting because this is the perfect chance to scare the other players out the the game.

Key Hints About Bluffing
When you do bluff, make sure you start either really early, or halfway through the game, and there is potential seen by the computer players. I.E.- If there's a 5, 7, and 9 on the table, there is potential for a straight. If you bet at this, the computer players are likely to think you have this hand, which will cause them to fold. Beware though, you can only bluff for one or two games before the computer players adapt to your style of playing. When this happens, get up, leave the bar, and go to another bar.

Cheating.
Now, I'm sure most people have heard the Poker cliché, in which all players tell you to use your cheat cards on Blackjack, not poker. My suggestion is to listen to this if you're wanting to make gold. In fact you should only play poker if you need it for a task or for fun. If you're wanting to make gold, you should NEVER play poker, just stick with blackjack. However, you should cheat in poker if you need to win for a task, or the pot is really big. C'mon, you really think I'm going to listen to someone on the "don't waste your cheat cards on poker" notion if the pot is at 1500 or 2000 gold? OF COURSE NOT! Just keep in mind though, that when you do cheat, make sure you have your numbers right, and never NEVER cheat when, one, another player (not computer), is at the table, two, put down the same card someone else has on the table, or three, do it for small money; IT'S NOT WORTH IT!.

The Reason Not To Cheat At Poker
Note that you must be precise when you're cheating at Poker. There's a lot going on at the table which makes it incredibly hard to cheat, and you can be caught cheating after everyone reveals their card because, there's a bigger likelihood of someone having the same card you cheated wit in their hand. To lower the chances of getting caught, only cheat at the last round, and once again, try and save your cheat cards for blackjack. And just to add to the complexity of cheating at poker, you have to do it fast, people and computer alike will suspect you of cheating if you're taking all 30 seconds to perform your turn. Also, just like bluffing, leave after one or two rounds, this will prevent the likelihood of you getting caught in the future.

Passing Gold.
Please refer to this guide on how to link an account to run 2 pirates from the same account at one time. If you're on a Macintosh, follow the guidelines on how to link an account, and there will be a link to another thread showing how to run 2 pirates at one time. If you have two accounts you plan on passing gold between, then you can skip the "link an account", and head right to the "how to"s of running two account at one time. This is if you want to pass gold between your own two pirates.

Now that the technicalities are out of the way, allow me to explain how you pass gold between 2 pirates. Note that when you do this between a friend and not your own pirates, the one passing gold must give the one about to receive gold all the commands.

The Scare Tactic
First, find a quiet server so you can do this just between you, and your friend/ your own account. Now, the computers are programmed to react a certain way when you do certain moves. The Scare Tactic is when you force all the computer players to fold, leaving just you, and the person you want to pass gold to. When it is your turn and your friend's turn during Part One of poker, click Bet/ Raise consistently. The computer players may keep calling or betting, but just be consistent with the raises. After a descent amount of gold is in the pot, go one to Part Two of playing poker, and keep betting and raising. If you notice that one or two of the computer players won't budge after a few turns, have both of you and your friend fold, leave, and go to another bar (this will prevent you from losing more gold). If you isolate yourself with just you and your friend in the game, keep checking until you're at the last round. Then, keep raising until you're at desired gold for your friend, or your friend is at 20-40 gold left (tell your friend to let you know). Then, you fold, and your partner will get the gold. Only keep going until "All=In", if your partner has a better hand than you do. Because you are on a time limit, use the chat shortcuts below (as suggested by Eliza Creststeel).
  • Fold= Fold
  • Bet= Bet
  • Straight= Str #-# (I.E.- Str 6-10)
  • Full House= FH #/# (I.E.- FH 7/A, sevens over ace)
  • Diamonds= D# (I.E.- Ace of Diamonds, AD
  • Royal Flush= Rflush (suit)
  • Kicker= Kkr #
And so on....

For those doing multiple times......
If you plan for multiple times doing this, you can only do this one at a time, meaning that every time you successfully pass gold, you have to stand up and sit down again with your friend, this will allow the table to reset, and you won't have trouble passing more gold between you and your friend. If you stay seated, the computer players will adapt to your playing style, and will prevent you from using the scare tactic.


Hope this guide helped you, I am always open to comments and suggestions.

Cannonfury 05-26-2009 07:53 AM

This is so cool, thanks so much for taking the time to make this! :)

Eliza Creststeel 05-26-2009 12:56 PM

This is from my Guild's poker document... for when you're doing a partner cheat.

To keep it moving, use a shorthand version of your cards.

Card Cheat Shorthand
Ace of Hearts + Three of Spades = AH 3S
Full House, Three 5’s over Two 7’s = FH 5s/7s or FH57
Straight to the Queen (8-Q) = Str 8-Q


And a few tips:

You shouldn’t bet unless you have something; either an opening pair of hole cards, an Ace, two face cards, or two sequenced cards (preferably of the same suit). You’re building on something, not praying and fishing.

If you paid the blind, it won’t hurt to check and see the next 3 cards (flop).

If everyone checks, do they have anything? After two rounds of everyone checking, go ahead and bet. If they’re all fishing for a prayer, they’ll likely fold. Should someone call you, then at least money is in the pot and you know something is in play.

Bluffing is an art. Either start early or… when next card shows potential.
(Ex. If a 6 of Diamonds, Jack of Hearts and an 8 of Spades is showing, the best you be hiding is three of a kind. So, a bluff likely wouldn’t fly. But, if three cards for a potential straight, flush or a pair are showing, you could be hiding something big.)

If you’re going to bluff, you have to keep it up. You can’t keep raising and raising, then at the last card just check. The jig is up at that point.

The game helps you with Avatar tells. If a pirate gets a good card, they will pump their fist or if they have nothing good, they will scratch their head.

If you decide to cheat, do it sparingly. Other players get suspicious if you take 30 seconds every hand to make a decision.

You shouldn’t risk card swapping for a small money game or hand; save’em until the pot is worth it. It’s hard enough to find’em.

Hold off on card swaps until the LAST round. Swapping before the flop cards may net you a pair, but if the flop would have given you a perfect flush or straight – you just missed it.

If you do cheat and win big, do yourself a favor and get up from the table; even if to just change seats. If you don’t and get caught later, all that money is GONE. The game registers each sitting as separate.

Bartholomew Foulsteel 05-26-2009 01:27 PM

Good guide--one mor e point not made about cheating at Hold'em; Only swap a card if there's you and one other NPC or player at the table (NPC would be preferable). With three (or more) players at the table, the odds are too high (not good, but three times more likely) that one of the players hold cards are a duplicate of yours. Do th swap ONLY at the River (the last card put down) and when you do it, do it FAST! Unlike Blackjack, at the poker table it seems the longer you take the less likely it will be that you get a successful swap. No sense in waiting for the River only to NOT have a successful swap.

Generally speaking, I would still recommend using your cheat cards at Blackjack. I had to do all the poker quests just like everybody else and was able to do so without cheating. Give it a try. Learn to play. You will win when you know the game.

Stephen O'Malley 05-26-2009 07:26 PM

Guide Updated: Thanks for your input Eliza and Bart.

Eliza Creststeel 05-26-2009 09:02 PM

Truffle,

Thanks loads for adding my few cents to an otherwise well-laid out guide.

Stephen O'Malley 05-28-2009 08:50 PM

Guide updated Edward Edgemenace, still testing the stand up sit down theory though.

Itsthebest11 12-01-2010 05:34 AM

Thanks for this, it really helps!

stevefrank 09-10-2012 12:27 PM

very helpful. hope you do it always...!!


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