How to Write About a Hand of Poker

Poker is a game of cards, where players make a five-card “hand” by combining their own two cards with the community cards in order to win the pot (all the chips bet so far). There are many different poker variants, but all share the same basic rules. A good poker player will use a mixture of betting, checking and bluffing to keep their opponents guessing what they have in their hand.

Poker can be played socially for pennies or matchsticks, or professionally for thousands of dollars in the world’s most famous casinos. There is a great deal of luck involved, but poker also requires a tremendous amount of skill. A player’s skill level can be measured in terms of several meta-skill dimensions, including opportunities, strategy, and execution.

One of the main challenges in describing a hand of poker is conveying the emotions of the players’ interactions, which are so important to the story. Using a combination of personal anecdotes and descriptions of the different methods players employ during the game, such as tells, can help.

Another challenge is to avoid analyzing the outcome of a hand too closely. It is very easy to fall into the trap of “resulting,” which involves starting with an outcome and working backwards in order to either validate or lambast the people who made the decision that led to the result. Annie writes that this is a dangerous habit to fall into, and that it’s much better to focus on the process of making decisions.