Ethics |Poker Strategy|

Ethics. Approved poker ethics, in various groups, range from the hard-boiled code in which anything short of cheating is permissible, to the strict standard that is traditional in such games as bridge. A survey of alternative customs in this respect is given later in this book. Players should agree on the customs they will follow, and so mark the book that there can be no misunderstandings later.

Cards. The ordinary pack of 52 is used, with the cards in each suit ranking: A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. There is no rank of suits. Wild cards. Any card or cards may be designated, by unanimous agreement, as wild. The holder of a wild card may designate any other card for which the wild card will stand: when deuces are wild, the holder of ? 2 ? Q 9 7 4 may designate the ? 2 as ? A.

The joker. It is quite usual to play with a 53-card pack including the joker, which is wild
The bug. The joker in a 53-card pack is often called the bug. The bug is a wild card with limitations: It may be counted as an ace, and it may be counted as a card of any suit or rank necessary to make a flush or straight. In special forms of poker (to be described later) the bug may take on other functions.