Poker: Poker Hands Fit For A King

Published on Tuesday, November 16, 2004 11:18:54 AM

I was holding King, 8 when the dealer flopped two Kings and a 10. Instead of being pleased, I was simply perplexed.

Out of the first seven hands of the free Hold 'Em tournament, a King was flopped six times.

The first hand, my Queens lost to Kings after the flop brought one of each.

The next hand, I won with Jacks, but only after seeing another King on the flop and buying the pot.

I stayed in the next hand — a King, 4, 6 flop — because of my pocket King. Despite the flush possibility that came with three diamonds on the table, my high pair ended up losing to a guy who had been dealt a 4, 6.

Then came a flop without a King. A straight won that pot, much to the chagrin of the guy holding a pocket pair of Kings.

Dealt King, 4 the next hand, I decided the odds of another King flop were slim so I folded. Sure enough, a King came out. This time though, a flush won and left someone frowning with a King, 6.

As we were all joking about how we'd never again fold a King, the dealer flopped a pair of them. I quickly mucked my 7, 8 and watched three Kings take the pot.

That brings us back to where our tale began: my King, 8 and the flopped King, 10, King. After a 4 came on the turn, I reraised a woman who had raised my first bet. Once the river brought a 6, I went all-in and she quickly called.

She showed me the final King and a 4, and I lost to a full house.

I had seen enough.

Seven hands and 17 Kings in 25 minutes to be exact.

Dealer's choice: Cincinnati

Ideal for three to nine players, Cincinnati is like Hold 'Em with more cards.

While dealing out five cards face down to each player, put five community cards face down in the middle of the table. The objective is to construct the best five-card poker hand by combining your cards with the community cards that will be revealed, one at a time.

Play begins with the player to the left of the dealer initiating a round of betting. After the round of betting, that player flips one of the community cards.

The game continues — next player to the left starts a betting round and then flips — until all five cards have been revealed. After a final round of betting, the best hand wins.

Inbox outtakes

It's not quite poker, but one of our readers needs help with Hearts.

Paul hopes someone can help him with "some specific Hearts issues such as how to evaluate and play a hand for slam (shoot the moon), how to play a hand with the Queen of spades and lots of other spades so you don't eat the Queen, etc."

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