However, there is more theory than practical value in such a table. Usually, one or more of the early players will have put in their white chips, and you cannot be sure whether they are weak or strong. Especially you must watch the position of the players who are in ahead of you. If the first or second man from the dealer has chipped along, it doesn't mean a thing; he may have anything. If the fourth or fifth man has merely chipped, he probably does not have a very strong hand. He probably would have bet the limit on a good hand.

In the late positions you can't afford to let the first round go by with nothing but white chips in the pot. From about the fourth man on (and certainly no later than the fifth man), you should almost invariably make the maximum bet if you have a pair of aces or two pairs-any hand that figures to be high before the draw. Every now and then you will merely chip along on such a hand, either because you have reason to believe there is going to be action later or for the purpose of "mixing up" your game and keeping the other players guessing. Such cases should be rare.

Both the nature of this game and human nature are such that there are many more draws to straights and flushes than in any other form of draw poker. In jackpots a player will (or at least should) throw away a straight or flush draw without hesitation when he is first or second man from the opener; he does not yet know how big the pot will be and it costs too much to come in. In this game, however, it costs only a chip; the pot already offers him excellent odds for that one chip, and he can make his final decision later.