Everything the trainer grades against. The pre-flop and flop decisions follow the Wizard of Odds basic strategy; the river is graded by exact enumeration of all 990 dealer hands, with the 21-outs rule shown as the human-speed heuristic.
Raise 4× with any of the following, otherwise check. Raising 3× is never correct.
“It’s really important to raise your 4x preflop opportunities. The ‘play’ bet is where you make all your money.” — Stephen How, discountgambling.net
If you checked pre-flop, bet 2× with any of the following, otherwise check:
“Two pair or better” misleads in two spots where most of the hand is the board’s, and the trainer grades them by exact EV instead:
Stephen How’s finer-grained flop strategy adds: bet nut kickers on paired boards, open-ended straight draws when both hole cards beat an 8, and 4th-nut-or-better flush draws. The trainer grades against the simpler Wizard rules above, plus the trips-board kicker rule.
Bet 1× with a hidden pair or better. Otherwise count the single cards (“outs”) that would let the dealer beat you, and bet when fewer than 21 outs beat you; fold at 21 or more. When you can’t even out-kick the board (you play the board), the Las Vegas Advisor card tightens this to fold at 18+ outs.
Counting quickly. Every unpaired board rank gives the dealer 3 pairing cards, and every rank above your kicker adds 4 more (3 if it’s on the board). The board pattern sets the base:
| Board texture | Base outs | Kicker that plays (no higher card showing) |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaired board | 15 | King |
| One pair | 11 | Queen |
| Two pair (5th card above the low pair) | 7 | Jack |
| Trips | 7 | Jack |
| Two pair (5th card below both pairs) | 4 | Ten |
| Four of a kind | 3 | Seven — and see the exception below |
Succession rule (odiousgambit): each board card that outranks the listed kicker moves the requirement down one — on an unpaired board a King plays; with an Ace showing a Queen plays; with Ace and King showing a Jack plays, and so on.
Exceptions from the thread:
Stephen How’s kicker view of the same rule: unpaired board — 2nd-nut kicker (nut kicker if a flush is possible); one-pair board — 3rd-nut kicker; two-pair board — 5th-nut if the top pair is 7s or better, else 4th-nut; trips board — 4th-nut; quads board — 8th-nut suffices.
Folding costs 2 units (Ante + Blind). Calling risks 1 more to win 1–2. With N single-card outs, the chance the dealer hits one is roughly
p = N/45 + (45−N)/45 × (N+4)/44
— first card an out, or first card whiffs and the second hits an out (the +4 covers the dealer pairing their own first card, plus runner-runner). Calling beats folding when p < 3/4, i.e. when you win at least 25% of the time. Solving the quadratic N² − 85N + 1305 > 0 gives N ≤ 20.1 — so you call with 20 or fewer outs, fold at 21+.
The dealer needs a pair or better to open (qualify). If the dealer doesn’t open, the Ante pushes; Play and Blind still have action. Ante and Play pay 1:1. The Blind pays only when your winning hand is a straight or better, otherwise it pushes on a win:
| Winning hand | Blind pays |
|---|---|
| Royal flush | 500 to 1 |
| Straight flush | 50 to 1 |
| Four of a kind | 10 to 1 |
| Full house | 3 to 1 |
| Flush | 3 to 2 |
| Straight | 1 to 1 |
| Anything less | Push |
House edge: 2.19% optimal (≈0.53% element of risk); the Wizard’s simple strategy gives up little — about 2.43% house edge, 0.58% element of risk. The trainer’s bankroll figure is in units of one Ante.