Chicago Poker Card Game

Chicago Poker Card Game

The poker-related card game called Chicago is one of the most popular card games in Sweden today. Relying on the keeping of score instead of the placing of bets, it is suitable even for environments such as schools, where gambling is often prohibited. The game exists in countless versions, so here a somewhat arbitrarily chosen basic game will be followed by a number of possible variations.

Hand scores

The backbone of the game is that each poker hand has its own point value, as given in this table:

One pair - 1 point.
Two pair - 2 points.
Three of a kind - 3 points.
Straight - 4 points.
Flush - 5 points.
Full House - 6 points.
Four of a kind - 7 points
Straight flush - 8 points

Basic rules

Chicago is played with a standard 52-card deck. Each player is dealt five cards. The objective is to reach 52 points.
Exchanges and hand scoring

The players are allowed to exchange any number of their cards. If a player chooses to exchange one card only, he may choose "one up", meaning that he is dealt one card faced up, which he can either accept, or instead take the next card unseen. After the exchanges, the player with the best hand and only one player gets points for his hand. Then follows another round of exchanges, but no hand scoring.

Now, the first player begins by playing one card. Ordinary whist rules apply, but the players keep their cards collected by themselves. The player who wins the last trick gets 5 points. Also, the player with the best hand whether it is the same player or not gets points for his hand. Please Note: After achieving 42 points a player is no longer permitted to trade cards as they normally would. Instead, they are dealt 6 cards at the beginning of the game and must discard one before the first scoring round. No further exchanges are permitted.
Chicago

After the second exchange, any player can choose to play Chicago. In this case, he pledges himself to win all the tricks of the game. If he does, he is awarded 15 points, but if he fails, the penalty is just as harsh: -15 points.
Blind Chicago

Sometimes, a player given five cards below ten either inclusive or exclusive - must be decides before game starts is allowed to replace them before the exchanges begin.
Some play with 3 exchanges instead of 2. Then of course, scoring for hands will be made after both the first and the second exchange.
Some do not use the "one up" rule.
Often, a game will require that a player declare "Chicago" before they can win the game. The declaration is accepted regardless of whether one wins or loses the 5 tricks.
Often, one wants to give higher rewards than 7 or 8 points for four of a kind and Straight flush respectively. There are several ways to achieve this, most notably by elevating the player immediately to 52 points, or lowering either all players or one player of the holder's choice to 0 points, or a combination of these. Some also separate the Royal Flush from the Straight Flush, awarding 9 points for a Royal Flush. Holding a Royal flush usually means immediate victory.
The confusion is great as to what scores are appointed in the case of Chicago. Some will argue that no player will get any points at all besides the +15 or -15, whilst others will allow other points to be awarded. The +5 for the game, however, can never be stacked with the +15 for Chicago. Yet another variation is to award +13/-13 points for Chicago and the declaring player gets to go first. In that variation it is forbidden to declare Chicago unless the player has reached 13 points, ruling out the possibility of a negative score.
Some prescribe that any player with 45 points or more is not allowed to replace any cards.
Some require that after and not in the same hand as a player reaches 52 points, he must win the game once more before he actually wins. This handles the possibility that more than one player reach 52 points in the same hand.
Some award 10 points instead of 5 if the last trick is taken with a deuce. If this variant is employed, 30 points must also be awarded for a Chicago hand successfully ended with a deuce.

Slot Machine

A slot machine is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed. Slot machines are also known as one-armed bandits because they were originally operated by a lever on the side of the machine the one arm instead of a button on the front panel, and because of their ability to leave the gamer penniless bandit. Many modern machines still have a legacy lever in addition to the button.

Slot machines include a currency detector that validates the coin or money inserted to play. The machine pays off based on patterns of symbols visible on the front of the machine when it stops. Modern computer technology has resulted in many variations on the slot machine concept. Slot machines are the most popular gambling method in casinos and constitute about 70 percent of the average casino's income.

A person playing a slot machine purchases the right to play by inserting coins, cash, or in newer Ticket-In, Ticket-Out machines, a paper ticket with a barcode, into a designated slot on the machine. The machine is then activated by means of a lever or button, or on newer machines, by pressing a touch screen on its face. The game itself may or may not involve skill on the player's part — or it may create the illusion of involving skill while only being a game of chance.

The object of the game is to win money from the machine. The game usually involves matching symbols, either on mechanical reels that spin and stop to reveal one or several symbols, or on simulated reels shown on a video screen. The symbols are usually brightly colored and easily recognizable, such as images of fruits, numerals or letters, and simple shapes such as bells, diamonds, or hearts; newer video slot machines use animated cartoon characters and images of popular actors or singers in the case of themed slot machines, as described below.

Most games have a variety of winning combination of symbols, often posted on the face of the machine or available on a different screen, accessible by touching a button on the main touch screen, on video slot machines. If a player matches a combination according to the rules of the game, the slot machine pays the player cash or some other sort of value, such as extra games.

There are many different kinds of gambling slot machines in places such as Las Vegas as well as casinos modeled after those in Las Vegas, including those operated on Native American reservations. Some of the most popular are the video poker machines, in which players hope to obtain a set of symbols corresponding to a winning poker hand. Depending on the machine, players can play one, 100, or more hands at one time.

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Poker Blinds

A blind or blind bet is a forced bet placed into the pot by one or more players before the deal begins, in a way that simulates bets made during play. The most common use of blinds as a betting structure calls for two blinds: the player after the dealer blinds about half of what would be a normal bet, and the next player blinds what would be a whole bet. This two-blind structure, sometimes with antes, is the dominating structure of play for community card poker games such as Texas hold-em. Sometimes only one blind is used often informally as a "price of winning" the previous hand, and sometimes three are used this is sometimes seen in Omaha. In the case of three blinds usually one quarter, one quarter, and half a normal bet amount, the first blind goes "on the button", that is, is paid by the dealer.

    For example, in a $2–4 limit game, the first player to the dealer's left who, if not for the blinds, would be the first to act posts a small blind of $1, and the next player in turn posts a big blind of $2. After the cards are dealt, play begins with the next player in turn third from the dealer, who must either call $2, raise, or fold. When the betting returns to the player who blinded $1, he must equal the bet facing him toward which he may count his $1, raise, or fold. If there have been no raises when action first gets to the big blind that is, the bet amount facing him is just the amount of the big blind he posted, the big blind has the ability to raise or check. This right to raise called the option occurs only once: if his raise is now called by every player, the first betting round closes as usual.

Similarly to a missed ante, a missed blind due to the player's temporary absence i.e. for drinks or a restroom break can be denoted by use of a special button. Upon the player's return, they must pay the applicable blind to the pot for the next hand they will participate in. The need for this rule is eliminated in casinos that deal in absent players as described above. Also the rule is for temporary absences only; if a player leaves the table permanently, special rules govern the assigning of blinds and button see next subsection.

In some fixed-limit and spread-limit games, especially if three blinds are used, the big blind amount may be less than the normal betting minimum. Players acting after a sub-minimum blind have the right to call the blind as it is, even though it is less than the amount they would be required to bet, or they may raise the amount needed to bring the current bet up to the normal minimum, called completing the bet. For example, a limit game with a $5 minimum bet on the first round might have blinds of $1 and $2. Players acting after the blind may either call the $2, or raise to $5. After the bet is raised to $5, the next raise must be to $10 in accordance with the normal limits.