Poker

Poker has many variations, all following a similar pattern of play. Depending on the variant, hands may be formed using cards which are concealed from others, or from a combination of concealed cards and community cards. Some of the most popular varieties of Poker include Draw Poker, Stud Poker, and Community Card Poker. You can find the specific rules for those varieties on their pages, but on this page we'll describe the basic rules in common with most varieties.

Hand Ranking

All Poker hands consist of 5 cards. If the variety of Poker being played uses more cards, then the player will select their best 5 cards from those available. The player with the highest ranking hand is declared the winner. Hands are ranked as follows, from highest to lowest:

1. Straight Flush - Five cards of the same suit, in order. For example, ♠8 ♠9 ♠10 ♠J ♠Q. The straight flush with the highest card will beat out another straight flush. A "Royal Flush" is the name given to the highest possible hand in Poker, consisting of Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten all in the same suit.
2. Four of a Kind - Any four cards of the same rank. For example, ♠8 ♣8 ♡8 ♢8. The remaining 5th card is called the "kicker" and the highest kicker breaks ties.
3. Full House - Any three cards of the same rank, combined with any two other cards of the same rank. For example, ♠8 ♣8 ♡8 ♡J ♢J. To break ties, compare the rank of the three card set. If they are the same, compare the rank the two card set.
4. Flush - Any five cards of the same suit. To break ties, compare the highest card in the flush. If they are equal, examine the second highest, and so on.
5. Straight - Five cards in order, not of the same suit. For example, ♠8 ♢9 ♠10 ♣J ♢Q. The straight with the highest card beats out another straight.
6. Three of a Kind - Any three cards of the same rank. To break ties, compare the ranks of the remaining two cards.
7. Two Pair - Any two cards of the same rank, combined with two other cards of the same rank. For example, ♣8 ♡8 ♡J ♢J. To break ties, compare the ranks of the highest pair, followed by the lowest pair, followed by the remaining fifth card.
8. Pair - Any two cards of the same rank. To break ties, compare the ranks of the pair, followed by the remaining three cards.
9. High Card - If no other hand can be made, then the highest card in you hand is used by itself. Ties are broken by the second highest card, and so on.

Betting

All forms of Poker use betting. This is when players wager money on their hands by putting money into a central pot. The player with the best hand wins the pot and collects all the money. Usually, poker chips are used instead of cash, for convenience. Players trade money in for chips to begin playing and then trade their chips back out for cash at the end (assuming they have any chips left). Players who lose all their chips are out, unless the game allows players to buy more chips between hands. If you don't want to play with real money, you can pass out an equal number of chips ahead of time to each player.

Games often have limits to how little or how much you can bet on any hand. Often, the smallest bet you can make is the size of the smallest chip. The largest bet you can make is often set by the "house" or whoever is running the game.

At the beginning of every hand there is an ante to start the pot. Often, this is a small amount that each player puts into the pot before the cards are dealt. Sometimes, the ante is provided solely by the dealer. This only works if the dealer is participating in the game and the dealer rotates fairly. Some games use blinds which are like antes, in that chips are added to the pot before the cards are dealt. Generally, the player to the left of the dealer places the blind bet, and sometimes the player to the left of them also places a blind. It depends on the rules of the particular game.

After the ante and blinds are finished, the cards are dealt and several rounds of betting ensue. This is when players take turns making bets by placing chips into the central pot. To stay in the game, you must match the bets placed by the previous players. If you do not wish to stay in the game, you can fold and drop out. If all players fold but one, then that player wins the pot. At the end of all the betting, the player with the highest hand is the winner and takes the pot.

The following actions can be taken during a betting round, when it is the player's turn.

• Bet - If there has not yet been a bet, a player can place a bet by putting chips into the pot.
• Raise - A player may raise the current bet by adding more money to the pot. Other players must match this to stay in the round.
• Call - If there is a bet, and the player wishes to remain in the round, but does not wish to raise the stakes, then they must add chips to the pot equal to the current bet.
• Check - If there is not yet a bet, and the player wishes to remain in the round, they can "check". This requires no additional chips to be added to the pot.