The pilum was a Roman weapon similar to a pike or spear. It was about 6 feet (two meters) long and was usually thrown at the enemy before the two armies were close enough to engage in close combat.
The pilum comprised a sharp, hard metal spike with a softer metal body, connected to a heavy wooden shaft by way of a single metal pin and below it several wooden pins.
Upon impact, the momentum of the heavy wooden shaft would drive the sharp metal point through a shield or into an opponent. If the pilum should strike a hard object, the shock would usually break the wooden pins, leaving the sharp metal end to pivot or flop uselessly around the single metal pin holding the metal spike in the heavy wooden shaft, thereby preventing the pilum from being reused by an enemy against the Romans.
The sharp metal point was at the end of a softer metal shaft, designed to bend upon impact, again so that the pilum could not be withdrawn and thrown back against the Roman soldiers.
In computing, a flip-flop is a one-bit memory element. More fully, a flip-flop is an electronic circuit element capable of exhibiting either of two stable states and of switching between them in a reproducible manner. Research Flip-Flop
In 2007 a court in the United Kingdom ruled that poker is a game of chance. Quite obviously the judge who sat in judgement was not a poker player. Poker is not a game of chance. Poker is a game of skill. An element of chance exists in every poker round, and this presents a challenge to the players, but taken long term poker is a game of skill and a skilled player will win more than a random player relying upon chance. As such, it is possible to learn the skills required to win at poker, though not every single hand dealt to one.
To win at poker one must consistently do two things: win the most money and lose the least money. It is inevitable, especially in a variation such as Texas Hold Em where one is forced to bet irrespective of the hand dealt, that one is going to lose some hands due to the element of chance. It is therefore essential to minimise the amount that one loses. This is known as playing tight. One might think of it as being boring, or miserly or careful.
Winning the most money in a round of poker usually involves taking a risk, gambling. The most expert poker players gamble least often. One might even say, paradoxically, that great poker players don't gamble. If poker was simply a game of chance, it would be a case of gambling on every hand. Mathematically it has been calculated that relying upon chance, and playing wildly a player might, if lucky, win 40% of the time. This also means they will lose 60% of the time.
Popular are Texas Hold Em poker tournaments where players pay the same stake, receive the same quantity of counters - known as chips - and at the end of the tournament the stake money, perhaps minus a percentage taken by the venue, is paid out proportionately to the winners, the first player receiving the most money, second a smaller amount, third a smaller amount still and depending upon the size of the tournament other losing winners may also receive some money back. If one plays in such tournaments, it is only necessary to be among the winners to make money. Entering twenty tournaments, losing nine and coming first in one may make one feel good, but it is usually more profitable to be placed third in fifteen of the twenty tournaments and lose the other five.
In order to win a hand of poker it is essential to know the rank of the different hands, perhaps most common is for new players to forget that a full house out ranks a flush, or that a straight flush out ranks four of a kind. Pairs are often over valued. A pair of aces may appear very attractive, but it is out ranked by any two pairs, or three of a kind, straight, flush, full house &c. In short, a pair of aces is just a pair!
A lot is made of the mathematics of poker. Knowing and calculating the probabilities of communal cards being dealt which will join with your hand to provide a higher ranked hand. It is not necessary to be able to precisely calculate the odds, but a basic understanding of likelihood is beneficial. Given ten players at a table of Texas Hold Em, twenty cards from the 52 card deck will be dealt. It is quite likely that someone has been dealt at least one ace. If there are just five players at the table, ten cards will be dealt, and the likelihood of someone being dealt an ace is much lower (about 1 in 5). There are numerous tables published showing the odds on various poker hands, suffice to say the chance of drawing five cards straight from a deck and receiving a pair is 42% (about two in every five attempts), three of a kind is less likely at 2.11% (about one in every forty-seven attempts) and a full house has a probability of 0.14% (one in every 694 attempts). In Texas Hold Em these odds are reduced because each player has seven cards from which to make a hand of the five best, and full houses are considerably more common than the odds might imply. Remember also, probabilities are unaffected by what has gone before. One can sit all night and not draw a pair of aces, the likelihood of being dealt a pair of aces next hand is no more likely than it was for any other hand - luck may change, probabilities do not.
After the flop in Texas Jold Em, there are still two more communal cards to be dealt. These cards may assist a player's hand, the number of cards which can make a target hand are known as 'outs'. For example, if a player has a hand consisting of four suited and consecutive cards, there are fifteen cards remaining which can make either a straight or a flush. The likelihood of one of these fifteen cards being dealt after the flop, with two cards still to come, is very likely (0.8 to 1 in the player's favour). If the first card dealt doesn't make the hand, the river might still do it with odds of 2 to 1 against. By contrast, if a player has three of a kind, the chances of being dealt the fourth card after the flop with two cards still to come is very slim. There is just one out (only one card which can make the hand) and the odds of it being dealt are 22 to 1 against, reducing to 43 to 1 against if the turn does not deliver. Dave Scharf, a respected poker player and author, recommends 'when you have doubts, proceed with eight outs. Fold all the rest'. Meaning if you have doubts about your hand winning and there are less than eight cards which could be dealt to help your hand, then cut your losses and fold.
Bluff is often overstated in poker. Psychology is less talked about. Great poker players, known as foxes, know what their opponents have, and play accordingly. One famous poker player famously folded a pair of kings pre-flop when challenged to bet all-in by an opponent. After folding his opponent revealed his hand - he was holding a pair of aces. Bluff can be used in poker, and indeed should be used, but sparingly. Excessive bluff leads to wild play, and that leads to losing a lot of money. Better than bluff is to be able to read the body language of your opponents and gauge an idea of what they are holding. When a poker player views his hold cards, if those cards are high ranked he will frequently experience an adrenalin surge. This surge will frequently cause an involuntary physical reaction, perhaps a sharp intake of breath, a nervous twitch of the eyebrows, pumping of the knee, a smile. The reactions vary to each person, with great poker players suffering the fewest and least obvious reactions the least times. They 'stay cool'. Bluff involves convincing your opponents that you have a better hand than them, when you don't, so that they fold and allow you the pot. Bluffing is a gamble. If you know the opponents don't have a great hand, the chances of winning should they call your bluff are increased. If you know they have a great hand, and they will win if they call your bluff, then don't bluff. Lose as little as possible.
Poker is not about winning pots. It is about winning money. If poker was about winning pots one could simply bet aggressively - bet lots of chips - every hand and encourage the opponents to fold, thereby winning the pot, but without encouraging the opponents to contribute more to it. If, however, one has a very strong hand, then by allowing one's opponents to bet until the very end one can encourage the size of the pot to increase before winning it. The danger with this type of play, known as slow play, is that with cards yet to be dealt it is possible that an opponent may draw a better hand. The typical scenario is being dealt a pair of pocket aces. Before the flop you check, and then on the flop two kings appear. If one of your opponents is holding a king, they have immediately drawn a stronger hand than your two aces. It is a matter of judgement when to bet aggressively, and encourage opponents to fold, and when to play slowly and encourage opponents to bet. Inexperienced players are often amazed at how few hands good poker player play. But by folding your weak hands you are not losing any money, and your opponents are taking each other out.
Sometimes you will be unable to read your opponents body language. Playing on line for example. However, their manner of play may give you some idea as to their hand. A check call may indicate a weak hand, or may be a slow playing bluff. Similarly, a raise may indicate a strong hand, or may be a weak hand hoping to bluff the other players out of the pot. This is particularly likely if the player making the bet is late in the round, the dealer of the player to the dealer's right. At a table of ten players, if the player to the left of the big blind makes a strong bet it is likely that either: they have a strong hand, or they don't know how to play Texas Jold Em. A re-raise, however, is usually a sign of a strong hand or at least of confidence by the player. Be wary of feeling you have to call a re-raise because you have already bet so much. Better to lose what you have already bet, than to throw away even more. If a player is folding almost every hand, and suddenly bets heavily on a hand, it is fairly likely they are a tight player and have now drawn a strong hand.
Similarly, it is not uncommon for players to attempt to 'steal the blinds' by making a bluffing raise pre-flop. If one is the big blind then one is the last player to bet pre-flop and this is a strong position to be in. One can often steal the raise by simply counter-bluffing and re-raising the opponent.
Some basic principals of Texas Jold Em poker playing are:
You don't win money from good players, only from weak players.
Poker is a card game in which the participants bet on the value of the cards dealt to them, the winner taking the pool of money being either the player whith the highest scoring hand of cards, or the only one left at the end of play having persuaded the other players to concede without showing their hands - this aspect often being accomplished with bluff.
There are numerous variations of poker in which players receive varying numbers of cards and have various numbers of cards hidden and displayed. The highest scoring hand is a 'royal straight flush' consisting of the ten, jack, queen, king and ace of the same suit of cards. The lowest scoring hand is generally a pair of twos or deuces - though it is possible to win with a non-scoring hand, simply by having the highest ranked cards.
Originally poker was played with a reduced deck of twenty-cards, all the cards below the ten being removed from the deck. The origins of the game of poker are uncertain, but some people believe it evolved from the similar French card game of poque.
At the start of the 21st century, No limits Texas Hold 'Em poker became very popular. In this variation of poker, played by between two and a maximum of ten players at each table, though multiple tables are common, each player is dealt two face down cards. The two players to the left of the dealer pay an ante into the pot before receiving their cards, the ante next to the dealer being known as the small blind and the next ante, which is twice the amount of the small blind being known as the big blind.
After the deal, the players commence a round of betting starting with the player to the left of the 'big blind'. This player may call the big blindante, raise the bet, or fold his cards. Each player may do the same in turn, and the betting continues until all the players except one have folded, or each remaining player has matched the last highest bet. A player who has already bet, may re-raise the bet, call the bet, or fold. This betting round can continue to a maximum of three re-raises by an individual player.
After the initial betting round, the dealer deals the top card face down into a waste head, and deals three communal cards face up into the centre of the table. These three cards are known as the flop. There then proceeds another round of betting, commencing with the player to the left of the dealer - the small blind.
Next the dealer again discards, face down, the top card from the deck and deals the next card face up next to the flop. This card is known as the turn.
After another round of betting, the dealer for a last time discards the top card of the deck, face down, and deals a fifth and final communal card face up into the centre of the table. This card is known as the river.
A final round of betting proceeds, at the end of which any remaining players reveal their private cards, and the highest hand of five cards made from the five communal cards a player's two hole cards, wins the pot. In the case of a draw, each player receives an equal share of the pot.
Often in a round of betting, a player will bet all his remaining chips, in a move known as 'all in'. This bet may result in a side pot if there are other players with chips still to bet. A player moved 'all in' may only win the pot or pots he has bet into. Subsequent bets are placed into another pot to be distributed between the winner or winners of the subsequent bets.
After an agreed time period, perhaps fifteen minutes, the antes known as blinds are doubled. In this way the game is time limited, with the antes becoming so large that players forced to bet by the rules of the game simply run out of chips.
Texas hold em is usually played in a knockout tournament, with each player having a fixed number of chips to begin with, and the winner being the last player left with any chips. It may be allowed for a player to buy more chips, thereby replenishing his supply, during the game - usually only the once during a game. This being known as a 'buy in'.
At the world poker championships, a tournament of Texas Jold Em poker typically involves some 800 or more players across 80 or more tables. As players are lost from a table, other players are moved from their seats to fill up the empty seats, reducing the tables in play until a final table is reached with the last ten players who then continue playing until a final winner is declared.
Flop is slang for faeces.
Flop is slang for to fail, a failure.
Flop is American and Canadian slang for a place to sleep.
Flop is Texas Hold 'empoker slang for the set of three communal cards dealt face up after the first round of betting. Research Flop
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Pilum
