“Little better than played the Jack with us.”
Tempest. Act IV., Scene 1st.
The pat hand means a hand which is played without having recourse to the draw. It may contain anything, from cards of no value up to a straight flush. There are all possibilities in a pat hand. Sometimes a player will raise on a pat hand according to position, and when called may exhibit two poor or two good pairs, or threes. He has played a mongrel pat. He had something and wanted to make his hand appear stronger than it really was. Such a hand containing two small pairs or three deuces, if started by a raise and backed up by a bluff, might make a better hand of threes, or a very low straight, take water.
Where poker is played according to the spirit of the game, it-is pretty certain that one eighth of the pat hands are bogus; because they are made to appear more frequently than the laws of chance permit. It is a very puzzling play to face with success. A good player, however, often employs it. When in the draw the first player who comes in refuses any fresh cards, it looks as if he really had pat a ready-made hand. When several are in, and bet a single chip, showing little strength, the final raise on the pat hand, which has nothing, generally takes the pot.
When a real pat hand, which has a straight, flush, full, fours, or a straight flush comes to a player, the holding of either of them often induces an overestimation of their values. The straight may begin with an ace and end with a five, then it is the lowest; or it may be a flush with only ten high, or a full of deuces. The better it is, the more you may count on its winning; but never lose your head over a pat hand. Nothing is invincible in poker but a straight flush, ace high.
With a bona fide pat in hand, having position, and raising, watch out for those drawing one card., if, after your final raise, they raise back on you. If your straight is low, or your flush is low, or your full is low, you might be then very expensively beaten.
The pat hand with nothing in it, is, among good players, a very likely bluff. If it wins it is always shown by them. Then a reputation for bluffing is gained by the player, which is exactly what he has been trying to establish.
It is, of course, impossible with a simulated pat hand not to bet on it. The least timidity exposes it. That would be like a battery having a heavy gun letting off a squib. Occasionally a wheedling bet, however, as if the player implored the others to see him, wins the pot. The other players think it a tempting lure, and say, “No, I thank you!” and are taken in.For more information about draw poker and other exciting casino gambling games visit our site at http://www.top10online.com