Here's a card-player's guide that covers virtually every aspect of poker, starting with a chapter that explains poker rules, then ranks and explains the value of poker hands, from Royal Flush to One Pair. The book goes on to discuss the game's mechanics, describing strategic concepts and explaining how knowledge of strategies separates casual from serious players. Chapters that follow instruct on how to assess differences between winning hands and bad hands, how to estimate odds, how and when to bluff, how to detect an opponent's bluff, and how and when to raise. Author and poker expert Lou Krieger concentrates on the five most popular poker games: Texas Hold 'em, Omaha, Omaha/8, Seven-card stud, and Seven-card/8. Final chapters tell where to find out more about poker, list good web sites for online play, and explain the jargon of betting terms. More than 300 color illustrations include examples that show common poker situations.