These require a basic knowledge of Poker and a lot of trust in the GM. Because a bot programmed to deal poker is difficult and nearly impossible to make, the GM will have a deck of cards directly in front of him and dealing. When cards are dealt to the character, the GM will Private Message the player and tell them what cards they have.

The players will be given 125 dollars to gamble with (their reward for the quest). If they decide they do not want to gamble their rewards, they will get nothing and will not quest. If a character falls to 50 dollars or below, they have the option of cashing out and walking away with what they have left. If a character goes 'all-in' and blows it, losing everything, they get 0/125/125. The last character standing wins the pot, however much money that is. All poker games are 'No Limit' which means that at any time, a player may go 'all in', that is, throw all their chips into the pot. NOTICE: If the character wins over $200, the house will take 10% of the money (since it -is- their money you're gambling with).

Texas Hold 'em: This is the Cadillac of Poker. It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.

To start, players 'ante up' which means throwing a small amount of money into the pot to start playing. This makes the hand interesting and ensures that nobody plays for free.

The dealer will start to his left, and deal each player two cards face down. These are called your 'hole' or 'pocket' cards. These are yours alone to see.

A round of betting then ensues.

Afterwards, three cards a dealt face up in the middle of the table. This is 'The Flop'. These three cards are community cards. Any person at the table may use these cards, and all at the same time. (example: Johnny has two kings. Bob has an ace and a king. The three cards layed out are seven, king, ace. Bob has two aces and two kings, and Johnny has three kings.)

After The Flop, another round of betting takes place.

After the betting, another card is dealt face up, next to 'The Flop.' This card is called 'The Turn'. It is the same as the 'The Flop': A community card that any player can use at the same time.

Another round of betting follows.

Finally, one last card is dealt face up. This is called 'The River' and it is the same as 'The Turn' and 'The Flop': a community card that any player can use, and all can use at the same time.

A final round of betting takes place before players show their hand. The best hand takes the pot.

Omaha Hold 'em: Omaha Hold 'em is much like Texas Hold 'em. You thrown in an ante first. Then five community cards are dealt face up ('The Flop,' 'The Turn,' 'The River'), which any and all players can use. The betting is the same, rounds taking place after cards are dealt. The only difference is the amount of cards players are dealt to begin with.

In Texas Hold 'em, players are dealt two cards face down. In Omaha Hold 'em, players are dealt four cards face down. This gives players more options and more opportunities to bluff.

The biggest difference from Texas Hold 'em is that while in Texas Hold 'em you can use one card, both cards, or no cards that are dealt directly to you, in Omaha Hold 'em you MUST use TWO and ONLY two of the cards dealt to you. If you have in your hand 'Ace, King, Seven Ten' and the first four cards deal are Ace, Ace, Nine, Nine, then you DO NOT have a full house. You have three of a kind, since you MUST you two of the cards in your hand. Rember this; too many have lost all their money because they forgot for a moment that they have to use two and only two of their cards.

Five Card Draw: One of the easiest Poker games to learn. In Five Card Draw, players first throw in an ante, and are then dealt five cards, all face down. After players get a good look at their cards, a round of betting ensues.

After the betting, players can 'trade in' card to the dealer. In other words, they can give cards to the dealer which do not help their hand, and 'Draw' the same amount of cards from the deck (example: Johnny has two Kings, an Ace, a Seven, and a Jack. Johnny slides the Seven, Jack, and Ace over to the dealer, leaving his pair of Kings in his hand. The dealer deals Johnny three cards. Johnny looks at his new cards, and he has 'Drew' a King, an Ace, and a Two. He now has three of a kind.)

After players have 'Drawn' their new cards, a final round of betting takes place. After this round of betting, players show their cards. Highest wins the pot.

The person dealt to first has the inititative. This person has three options: they can bet (throw money into the pot), check (take no action and see what everyone else does), or fold (toss their cards away. If this happens, inititiative is passed to the immediate left of that person). Only the person who's turn it is to start the betting (the person dealt to first) is allowed to check. If that person does not check or fold, the other players may not check either. However, if the person setting the betting checks, it is avaialable for the next person to check as well.

If the person bets, the other players must either 'call' or 'see' his bet (match the amount of money thrown in), 'raise' (throw more than the person threw in), or fold (give their cards up and get out of the hand). If somebody raises the amount of money, everyone must match that amount. If the person to your left raises it and you haven't thrown in any money, you must match (or raise) that amount of cash to stay in the hand. If you have already thrown in money, and somebody raises, you must throw in the difference (example: Johnny throws in five dollars. Bob throws in ten dollars. Johnny must throw in another five if he wishes to continue)

1. Royal Flush
This is the highest poker hand. It consists of ace, king, queen, jack, ten, all in the same suit. As all suits are equal, all royal flushes are equal.

2. Straight Flush
Five cards of the same suit in sequence - such as J-10-9-8-7, all of Spades. Between two straight flushes, the one containing the higher top card is higher. An ace can be counted as low, so 5-4-3-2-A all of Hearts is a straight flush, but its top card is the five, not the ace, so it is the lowest type of straight flush. The cards cannot "turn the corner": 4-3-2-A-K of Diamonds is not valid.

3. Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank - such as four queens. The fifth card can be anything. This combination is sometimes known as "quads". Between two fours of a kind, the one with the higher set of four cards is higher - so 3-3-3-3-A is beaten by 4-4-4-4-2.

4. Full House
Also known as the 'Full Boat', this consists of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank - for example three sevens and two tens (colloquially known as "sevens full over tens"). When comparing full houses, the rank of the three cards determines which is higher. For example 9-9-9-4-4 beats 8-8-8-A-A.

5. Flush
Five cards of the same suit. When comparing two flushes, the highest card determines which is higher. If the highest cards are equal then the second highest card is compared; if those are equal too, then the third highest card, and so on. For example K-J-9-3-2 of Spades beats K-J-7-6-5 of Hearts, because the nine beats the seven.

6. Straight
Five cards of mixed suits in sequence - for example Q-J-10-9-8. When comparing two sequences, the one with the higher ranking top card is better. Ace can count high or low in a straight, but not both at once, so A-K-Q-J-10 and 5-4-3-2-A are valid straights, but 2-A-K-Q-J is not. 5-4-3-2-A is the lowest kind of straight, the top card being the five.

7. Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same rank plus two other cards. This combination is also known as Triplets or Trips. When comparing two threes of a kind the hand in which the three equal cards are of higher rank is better. So for example 5-5-5-3-2 beats 4-4-4-K-Q.

8. Two Pairs
A pair is two cards of equal rank. In a hand with two pairs, the two pairs are of different ranks (otherwise you would have four of a kind), and there is an odd card to make the hand up to five cards. When comparing hands with two pairs, the hand with the highest pair wins, irrespective of the rank of the other cards - so J-J-2-2-4 beats 10-10-9-9-8 because the jacks beat the tens. If the higher pairs are equal, the lower pairs are compared, so that for example 8-8-6-6-3 beats 8-8-5-5-K. Finally, if both pairs are the same, the odd cards are compared, so Q-Q-5-5-8 beats Q-Q-5-5-4.

9. Pair
A hand with two cards of equal rank and three other cards which do not match these or each other. When comparing two such hands, the hand with the higher pair is better - so for example 6-6-4-3-2 beats 5-5-A-K-Q. If the pairs are equal, compare the highest ranking odd cards from each hand; if these are equal compare the second highest odd card, and if these are equal too compare the lowest odd cards. So J-J-A-9-3 beats J-J-A-8-7 because the 9 beats the 8.

10. High Card
Five cards which do not form any of the combinations listed above. When comparing two such hands, the one with the better highest card wins. If the highest cards are equal the second cards are compared; if they are equal too the third cards are compared, and so on. So A-J-9-5-3 beats A-10-9-6-4 because the jack beats the ten.

If two players have the same hand (example: Johnny has an Ace-high Diamond Flush. Bob has an Ace-high Spade flush. or Jack has two Aces. The Flop is three Fours. Alex has two Aces as well. They both have a Full House, Aces over Fours) then the two players split the pot. This means that the money in the pot is devided evenly between the two, and whatever canot be equally devided stays in the pot for the next hand.

PLAYERS WILL STILL BE EXPECTED TO RP. This is a situation where your character is in the Shark Club and playing poker. Lack of RP will result in a fine of $$$/EXP/S-EXP.

As to make the quest go relatively fast (so it doesn't take hours on end, like a poker game would) there will be a stanard ante for each hand. The ante is 10 dollars for the begining of a game. When the players dwindle, or when time gets short, antes will slowly increase to 20 dollars. Then to 40. Then to 50. At any time when the ante is above 20 dollars, players make decide to cash out and call it quits. This means each player keeps the money they currently have, and the game is over. However, if one player does not wish to cash out, the game continues.

At times, the GM may ask one person to roll a roll of d20+luck. If the roll is 15+ that person will recieve an advtange based on the die roll of the GM. These are a few advantages a good luck roll and a good GM roll can get you.

1 - You can see two cards from the discard pile. This gives a good idea of just what your odds are for getting that fourth Ace.

2 - You can see the person to your right's cards. In Texas Hold 'em, you can see only one. In Five Card Draw and Omaha, you can see two of their cards.

3 - You can see the person to your left's cards. In Texas Hold 'em, you can see only one. In Five Card Draw and Omaha, you can see two of their cards.

4 - You can see both the person to your left and the person to your right's cards. In Texas Hold 'em, you can see only one. In Five Card Draw and Omaha, you can see two. of their cards.

5 - You can see ALL the cards of one of the people sitting beside you. Who that person is will be determined by the roll of a d2 by the GM.

6 - You can read a bluff as easy as reading 'See Spot Run'. With this, a GM will Private Message you and say either 'Bluffing', 'Not Bluffing', or 'Letting it Ride' (which means they possibly have a hand) in relation to the person you decide to get a read on.

7 - Lucky number seven. With this, by a fault of the dealer, you can see up to two of what the next cards will be dealt. This is determined by the roll of a d2 by the GM.

Basic Tips:

Rember, Poker is a game of skill, not luck. However, luck does come in a handy.

Beware of the Check Riase. A person may check, and when it comes your turn, you might bet five dollars. The person who just checked, meanwhile, raises you another five. This is a technique to draw people into the pot, catch them off-guard, and is sometimes one of the ultimate bluffs.

Bluffing will get you everywhere in Poker. Remember what Kenny Rogers said; every hand is a winner. If you can read your opponent, read the cards, and know how to bluff, you can get through anything. Remember, just because it's RP doesn't mean you can't read your opponent. Pay attention to betting styles; if somebody bets big at first, and then after you call them, bets small, you have just called their bluff.

Don't be too anxious to call everyone's bluff. Remember, sometimes, they just ain't bluffing. Get to know that person style; do they play aggressive? Conservative? Do they bluff often?