Playing Out Our Hypothetical Hand

With all that said, let's see how this hypothetical hand might play out:

Andy

Bob

Chuck

Dave

Ed

Frank

Greg

Hal

Hal must bet first, and he bets €1. Andy looks at his three-straight and two flush, and thinks, "gee, it would be nice to be able to see another card for €1." He knows that in his early position, there are still six more players left to act, and the chances of sneaking in for €1 aren't good. But he calls €1 anyway.

Bob knows he has a good hand. Someone holding Queens is mostly afraid of someone else holding Kings or Aces and the chances of someone holding Aces are greatly reduced, because three Aces are visible in three different hands. So Bob raises (actually, in this case, he is considered to "complete" the bet) to €4.

Chuck should know he is in trouble, but can't resist seeing if he can turn his three-straight into a four-straight, so he calls €4. Dave had been thinking about bluffing with his Jack, but with three players already in, he decides this is not the best time to try a bluff. He folds.
Ed knows his hand will have a hard chance of improving, but can't resist playing with a pair. He calls, even though he knows this is probably wrong.

Frank realizes his hand is practically worthless, and folds quickly. Greg grows a bit more encouraged by Frank's fold; he now knows that the last Ace left wasn't in Frank's hand. He also reasons that because Ed didn't raise, Ed probably doesn't have another Ace either. Perhaps most importantly, Greg doesn't see any Queens or Kings. Although this hand probably should be played with a call, Greg decides to be aggressive and raise. If this is a mistake, it's a small one. Aggression is often rewarded in poker.

Hal now must decide if he wants to invest another €7 in this hand. His low pair, the visible six in Chuck's hand, and the fact that so many other players seem to have good hands (or at least the belief that they have good hands), convince him to fold. Good decision, Hal!

Andy had been hoping to sneak in for €1, and would have called another €3 without much complaint, but Greg's raise has made it more difficult for him to indulge his desire to play. He knows he should fold, but he decides to call anyway.

Like many poker players, Andy has made a bad decision a little bit at a time. If Andy had known at the outset that it would have cost €8 to see a fourth card, he might have folded immediately. But he tried to sneak in cheap, and then, when Bob completed the bet to €4, Andy had time to get used to the idea of putting €3 more in. By the time Greg raised, Andy had mentally committed to tossing another €3 in, so the decision to invest the final €4 wasn't quite so hard. If Andy had taken an immediate realistic look at both his cards and his awkward early position, he could have gotten away from this hand very cheaply. We'll soon see whether his gradual seduction winds up costing him.

Bob furrows his brow. Greg has raised with an Ace showing; he COULD have a pair of Aces; just because this is unlikely doesn't mean it's impossible. If Bob raises back, he will probably cause some players to drop out, and he will probably find out how strong Greg's hand really is. On the other hand, if he just calls, he disguises the strength of his own hand. Greg likes being sneaky like that. He decides just to call. With more opponents, Greg's Queens will have a greater chance of losing, but if they win, they'll win a bigger pot.

Chuck knew his €4 call was a bad idea, but because he already has €4 "invested" in the pot, he goes ahead and calls the raise, forgetting the principle that once money goes into the pot, it no longer belongs to him. He now has €8 invested in a pot he shouldn't have played. Chuck and Andy apparently learned from the same teacher.
Ed isn't happy either, but with €4 invested, he calls the €4 raise. His decision is a bit better than Chuck's, because he can be sure that this €4 is the most he'll have to invest to see the fourth card. When Chuck called, there was some chance that Ed might have raised and then Greg could have raised again. Ed doesn't face that risk. Greg was the raiser, and with Frank now out, Greg now follows Ed in the hand. Greg can't raise his own raise.

This concludes the first round of betting. With €8 starting in the pot in antes, and Andy, Bob, Chuck, Ed, and Greg in for €8 more each, and Hal in for his €1 bring-in, there is €49 in the pot (less whatever this particular casino "cuts" from the pot as its share).