Cartographer: yeti_c
An introduction to Poker Club
The dealer has thrown the cards on the table and it's up to you to come up with the best hand. Use bluff, raise your bets and go all-in with your best pokerface in an ultimate attempt to become the chipleader and win the game.
*In this guide, the capital letters H, D, C and S mean Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades.
Classification
Size: Medium – 52 regions.
Complexity: Low, when the legend is read thoroughly
Maximum amount of players: 8
Features
16 of the 52 territories are starting territories, the other territories start neutral.
A unique bonus system.
Bonuses
The bonuses for added troops can be found in the legend of the map. It is wise to keep an eye on the legend, so you don't miss out on getting a better hand. Because this map is made out of a deck of (52) playing cards, there is an extreme amount of different combinations of cards to create a bonus. Texas hold 'em lovers will know it, for the rest of you, the list:
High card = 3 troops, no combination of cards needed
1 pair = 4 troops, hold 2 cards of same value
2 pair = 5 troops, hold 2 cards of same value + 2 different cards of same value
3 of a kind = 6 troops, hold 3 cards of same value
Straight = 7 troops, hold 5 cards of any suit in sequence
Flush = 8 troops, hold 5 cards of same suit
Full House = 9 troops, hold 3 cards of same value + 2 cards of same value
4 of a kind = 11 troops, hold 4 cards of same value
Straight Flush = 13 troops, hold 5 card sequence in same suit
Royal Flush = 15 troops, hold 10 Jack Queen King Ace in same suit
Basic strategy
It is important to get a good hand for the bonus troops, but Poker Club is a map where patience is needed. Don't hurry and don't worry if it takes a few turns to get the bonus you desire. It will differ from game to game what the best hand you can get with limited effort is. Analyze your starting position and come up with a plan for a future bonus (better hand) and carry out this plan over the course of a few rounds.
There are some hands that are very hard to get, but there are also a few hands that are relatively easy to hold. Whether this 'easy hand' is easy for you, depends entirely on your starting positions, so keep that in mind. Also, the mapmaker has done his best to make the big hands (Four of a kind, Straight Flush, etc) hard to get, because the game would be inbalanced if he didn't. Don't expept to get your Royal Flush in two rounds!
List of relatively easy hands to get
- In the centre, there is a Straight up for grabs, consisting of 3-D, 4-D, 5-C, 6-H, 7-C. This seems too good to be true and it is. Other players have starting positions nearby, so keep that in mind. If you stack a little, maybe your enemy tries it first and you can take over the whole thing. This happens quite often.
- In the left corner there's a three-way Full Fouse possibility of 7's over 10's, 7's over Jacks or 7's over 2's. This depends on your starting position (a bit) and your opponent starting position + assault route/plan (a lot).
* When the above three 7's are controlled, it's tempting to go for the 7 of Clubs for your Four of a kind. As you now know though, this is part of the other easy hand I mentioned, so it's likely there is some fighting going on there. Usually it's better to stay out of this, unless you're sure you can take 'em on. Four of a kind of 7's is not an easy hand to hold, but it does look easy to get.
* The 3-D, 4-H, 5-C, 6-C, 7-H Straight is also in one row, but is also exactly between the earlier described areas, making it very hard to keep. I wouldn't recommend going for it, unless the game asks for it.
- In the top right corner there's also a possibility for a Straight: 10C, J-C, Q-S, K-D, A-C. When you manage to get this straight, you'll notice that the King and Queen Clubs are also close, so that a Royal Flush might be something to consider for the next rounds.
There are other easy hands, but I've given you the most basic strategy. You ought to remember this:
- Taking an early bonus might leave it undefended, because you attacked neutrals to get it. There's a risk you'll lose the game in the first two rounds, so patience really is a virtue on this map.
If you aim for a high bonus, like the Royal Flush, be prepared to wait for it longer. This also has a lot to do with patience, but I can't stress it enough. Impulsive decisions will most likely mean your defeat.
Settings
Fog of War
I'd recommend playing this game with Fog of War, because you can surprise your enemy with a hand they didn't see coming. It's possible to deploy 3 troops one round and take only one region to finish your Straight Flush for 13 troops, which will surprise your enemies.
When you play this map with Fog of War, it is very important to know what the starting positions are. Luckily, I have copied these starting positions for you from the Foundry topic of Poker Club.
These are the possible starting positions:
Ace-D, Ace-S, Queen-D, Queen-S, Jack-H, Jack-C, 9-H, 9-C, 7-H, 7-C, 5-H, 5-C, 4-D, 4-S, 2-D and 2-S.
Also, you can see it on this image, where all the blue dots are the starting position.
This table shows all of the neutral starting territories.
This gives us the following player - starting territories ratio
1 v 1
Make sure you get a better hand than your opponent as soon as you can. Once you have a solid hand (Full House or better), analyze the starting positions and try to imagine what hand he's going for. If your enemy has a bonus, you can see it in the log. Together with the starting positions you can find in the Foundry Topic, it's a bit of a puzzle where his troops are concentrated. If you can solve this puzzle, you can win the game. The puzzle will be different every single game!
Doubles, triples, quadruples
When playing a teamgame, you have to look which one of the teammembers has the best drop to get to a good hand as soon as possible. The rest of the team deploys only on this teammember, because the chances of being eliminated themselves are rather slim.
No Spoils
A good setting for this map, because it will make the participating players rely on their insight in the map. When creating a good hand for yourself, the bonus troops you recieve will be enough to crush the enemy. You won't need spoils in that case.
Flat Rate
When playing with Flat Rate spoils, the basic strategy should be carried out. The only difference is that bonuses can be broken by the enemy on a much more luck-based and surprising way. If you like a surprise, this can be a good setting.
Escalating
This map doesn't really support escalating gameplay. Nonetheless, escalating spoils can turn a game of Poker Club upside down when the spoils are worth above 20 troops per cash. I'd recommend this only to players that love the escalating spoils deeply.
Nuclear, Zombie Spoils
Nuclear and Zombie Spoils can be used to create the element of surprise. Very big bonuses can be broken at once by this kind of spoils, which can change the game dynamic completely. Nuclear and Zombie spoils will offer you a game full of surprises.
Reinforcements
Chained: Chained fortifications will only be available later in the game, because the starting position are spread over the map.
Adjacent: Adjacent fortification will rarely be used.
Unlimited: Once you have connected 2 or more starting positions, unlimited fortifications can help you to fortify your borders.
Parachute: A useful setting for Poker Club, because the starting positions are spread across the map, separated by neutral territories. Parachute reinforcements can regroup your troops.
None: No reinforcements can very well be used on this map. Use it if you like the setting.
Trench
The interesting part of a trench warfare game, can be: “who gets there first”. This is the case playing a Trench Poker Club. Given your starting positions, you have to come up with the shortest route to the biggest bonus possible. Because of the different starting position, this can be a hard puzzle to solve. But if you solve it, victory will be the award.
Assassin
When playing with Fog of War, it'll be very difficult to determine where your target is. Read the game log very carefully and focus on getting a strong hand yourself.
When playing without Fog of War, focus on getting a strong hand. Once you have a sufficient amount of troops due, go after your target. Take your time, your enemies will have just as much troubles eliminating their target as you do.
Tips for free
- Use Fog of War, it makes this map a lot more fun. It also demands you to think about your strategy even better.
- Read the legend very carefully, it'll help you pick the strongest hand possible, given your starting positions. Also, check the starting positions (written in this guide) regularly, to make solid plans. A game plan without knowledge of the starting positions has a rather low chance of success.
- Stack at least the first two rounds in a standard (multiplayer) game. Of course this is just my opinion, but I've seen it happen very often that players that start assaulting early in the game weaken themselves and get wiped off the board easily. Do with this tip whatever you want.
