PREFACE 								       		 xv 

	INTRODUCTION ♣♦♥♠ 							 	  	  1
 	   A Snippet of History:
 	   Luck vs. Skill:

	1 ALL HANDS ON DECK ♣♦♥♠ 							  	  5
   	 The Hands 
   	 The Game 

	2 THE (MATHEMATICAL) CHANCES ARE … ♣♦♥♠ 					 	 25
   	 Drawing One Card 
   	 Compound Probabilities While Drawing One Card 
	 Probabilities When Drawing Two or More Cards 
   	 Drawing Three or More Cards 
   	 Permutations and Combinations 
   	 Finding Probabilities Using Combinations 

	3 THE PROBABILITIES OF THE CLASSICAL 5 CARD POKER HANDS ♣♦♥♠ 		 63
    	 Royal Flush :
    	 Straight Flush :
    	 Four of a Kind : 
    	 Full House : 
    	 Flush :
    	 Straight :
       3 of a Kind :
       Two Pair :
       Pair :
       Less Than A Pair :
       The Types of Less Than A Pair Hands :
       Summary :

   	4 GETTING A CLASSICAL POKER HAND FROM 7 CARDS DEALT ♣♦♥♠ 			 83
       Royal Flush :
       Straight Flush :
       Four of a Kind : 
       Full House : 
       Flush :
       Straight :
       3 of a Kind :
       Two Pair :
       Pair :
       Less Than A Pair :
       The Types of Less Than A Pair Hands :
       Summary :

	5 THE FIRST TWO CARDS OF THE HAND IN TEXAS HOLD ’EM ♣♦♥♠			117
       The First Two Cards Dealt 
       The Good And The Potentially Good Hands 

	6 WHAT DOES THE OTHER PLAYER HAVE? PART I ♣♦♥♠					133
       What If You Have a Pair?     Could An Opponent Have a Better Pair? 
       What If You Have a Pair?     Could An Opponent Have Two Overcards? 
       What if You Have Ace-King or Ace-X?  Could An Opponent Have A Better Hand?
       What If You Do Not Have an Ace?    Could An Opponent Have an Ace? 

	7 THE FLOP ♣♦♥♠ 										161
       The First of the Community Cards - The Flop 
       The Types of Flops 
       Summary : 

	8 THE FIRST TWO CARDS FOLLOWED BY THE FLOP ♣♦♥♠ 				175
       Starting With A Pair Qc|Qh 
       Starting With Suited Connectors 
       Starting With Suited Connectors - Middle Range 
       Starting With Suited Non-Connectors Two Cards 
       Starting With Unsuited Connectors 
       Starting With Two Cards, Unsuited, Non-Pair, Non-Connectors 
       Starting With Non-Pair Ace-N 
       Starting With Two Live Cards 
       Chapter Summary 
       Sidebar: Starting Hands vs. Flops vs. Winners In Televised Poker Tournaments:

	9 WHAT DOES THE OTHER PLAYER HAVE? PART II ♣♦♥♠ 				207
       Considering Your Hand and the Flop, What Does the Other Player Have? 
       What If The Flop Shows An Ace?    Could Your Opponent Have An Ace? 
       What If You Hold a Pair X-X and The Flop Shows a Lesser Pair, Y-Y?  
         Could Your Opponent Be Holding a Y? 
       What If The Flop Shows Three Suited Cards? 
         Could Your Opponent Have a Flush? 
       What If The Flop Shows Two Suited Cards and You Hold Two Cards of That    
         Same Suit? 
         Could Your Opponent Also Hold Two Cards of That Same Suit? 
       What If The Flop Shows Two Suited Cards and You Do Not Hold a Card of That 
         Suit? 
         Could Your Opponent Also Hold Two Cards of That Same Suit? 
       What If The Flop Shows Three Cards In Sequence?    Could Your Opponent 
          Have a Straight? 
       What If The Flop is Sparse? 

	10 THE TURN AND DOWN TO THE RIVER ♣♦♥♠ 						247
       How Many Outs Do You Have? 
       Number of Outs Converted to a Percent
       What Does The Other Player Have? Part III 
       Two Cards To Come - Two Cards Needed 
       What Does The Other Player Have? Part IV 

	11 EXPECTED VALUE AND POT ODDS ♣♦♥♠ 						285
       Expected Value 
       Pot Odds vs. Poker Odds 
       Implied Odds 
       Using Pot Odds To Discourage a Call From An Opponent Who Is On a Draw 

	12 LET THE GAMES BEGIN (OR “SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL”) ♣♦♥♠ 			307
       It’s All About Betting $$ 
       Player Strategy 
       Decisions On The Rounds of Betting Following The Flop 
       Reading Your Opponents - Poker Tells 

	14 THE END GAME ♣♦♥♠ 									333
       The End Game 
       A Final Note 

	INDEX 			345

	FURTHER READING 		348