Know Poker Hands

Poker hands? Hardly know her!

You've gotta know your poker hands. It's just sad to see a guy get all excited about his 2 pair only to learn that it ISN'T better than a straight. Honestly, it's not that tough - and if you keep your mouth shut, usually someone else at the table knows what he's doing and will call out what's what. But reaching in for the chips when you didn't actually win is more embarrassing than that time you shit your pants on the metro.

Remember, too, that there are thousands if not millions of different poker games. And each has some sort of elaborate rule set. Sometimes the Ace is good, sometimes it's bad. Sometimes the guy next to you is trying to help you win; sometimes he's trying to make you lose.

At the very least, learn the rules and hands of Texas Hold 'Em. At least that way, if you screw up one of the other games, you can say "Oh, I'm so used to Hold 'Em".

Now, if you're truly interested in taking the next step, and being an active participant -- learn nicknames for hands. "Dead Man's Hand', "Bullets", "Snowmen", "Herpes", "Doctor's Visit", "Your Mom", "My Mom", "Joe Mom", "Who Farted", "Dirty Seagull", and others. Ok, some of those might be fake, but you didn't know that. What's why you're here....to learn.