In the game of Poker, cards are ranked from low to high in the following order: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. It is important to note that an Ace can also be low. Furthermore, the cards are also separated into four separate suits of equal value: Clubs, Spades, Hearts, and Diamonds.

Each player is dealt five cards and the objective of the game is to have the highest valued hand. From best to worst, hands are referred to and ranked in the following order:

Royal Flush - Rules of Poker

A Royal Flush is made up of five specific cards of the same suit in sequence. The cards must be a 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace.

Straight Flush - Rules of Poker

A Straight Flush is comprised of five cards of the same suit in sequence. Any five cards in sequence are accepted but a player is not allowed to “wrap around”. For example, a player cannot use a Queen, King, Ace, 2 and 3 as a Straight Flush. While the Ace is high in a Royal Flush, it is low in a Straight Flush (i.e., 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace). The following is another example of a Straight Flush.

Four of a Kind - Rules of Poker

A Four of a Kind hand includes four cards of the same rank accompanied with an extra card commonly referred to as a "kicker" (i.e., 4, 4, 4, 4 and 2). Cards are ranked by their numerical value, meaning that 5, 5, 5, 5 and 3 beats 4, 4, 4, 4 and King.

Full House - Rules of Poker

A Full House means that of the five cards in a hand, three have the same numerical value and the remaining two cards also have the same numerical value. Ties are broken first by the Three of a Kind and then by the Pair. For example, 9,9,9, 3 and 3 beats a 7,7,7, Ace and Ace.

Flush - Rules of Poker

A Flush is made up of five cards of the same suit, regardless of their numerical value. In a situation where two players both have a Flush, the player who has the highest ranking card wins. In the example below, hand 1 beats hand 2.

Straight - Rules of Poker

A Straight means that a player has five cards in numerical order, regardless of their suit. A Straight cannot “wrap around”. In a situation where two players both have a Straight, the Straight that leads to a higher ranking card wins. In the following example, hand 1 beats hand 2.

Three of a Kind - Rules of Poker

Three of a Kind means that a player holds three cards of the same numerical value and the two other cards are not a pair. When two players each have Three of a Kind, the player with the higher valued cards wins. In the following example, hand 1 beats hand 2.

Two Pair - Rules of Poker

A Two Pair represents a hand with two sets of pairs. If two players have a Two Pair hand, the player who has the highest valued pair wins. In the example below, hand 2 beats hand 1.

One Pair - Rules of Poker

A One Pair hand means a player has one pair of similar cards and three random cards. Again, if more than one person has a One Pair hand, the player with the highest valued pair wins. In the following example, hand 1 wins.

High Card - Rules of Poker

If no players have any of the above combinations, the player holding the highest valued card wins. In the case of a tie, you move to the next highest card. In the following example, hand 1 wins.

Before the game begins, each player places an ante or "token bet" into the pot before the cards are dealt. The ante can be any dollar value. Players need an ante because it guarantees that someone will always win something on each hand. Once all players have placed their token bets into the pot, the dealer deals the cards face down around the table, starting with the player to his left and continuing clockwise. The dealer always receives his cards last. The dealer deals everyone their first card and then goes around the circle to deal the second card, and so on. As soon as every player has five cards, the remainder of the deck is placed in the middle of the table and play begins.

After the cards have been dealt, the players can look at their cards before placing bets. While there are several ways of deciding who bets first, usually the player directly to the left of the dealer makes the first bet. Then, on the next hand, the person to his or her left will bet first, and so on.

As far as betting goes, players have several options during the first round. Up until the point where nobody has yet made a bet, a player has two options: to “open” the pot by making the first bet without exceeding the betting limit or to “check”. By electing to “check”, a player states that he is not ready to bet, but does not want to “fold” (quit) either.

Once the betting has started, a player has three different options. The first is “seeing” another player, which means a player chooses to match the bet of another player. For example, if a player bets $10, in order for the other players to stay in the game, they must “see” the wager, meaning they must place $10 into the pot. The second option is referred to as “raising”, which basically states that a player would like to raise the stakes. A player cannot raise the stakes without first “seeing” the initial wager. In other words, if a player bet $10 and another player would like to “raise” he or she would first ”see” the $10 wager and “raise” the stakes by any nominal amount without exceeding the table limit. Finally, the third option is to “fold”, which is to quit. Once a player has opened the betting, the other players have the option to fold, and do so by placing their cards face down on the table. A player will most likely fold when their hand is too weak to compete. All players who haven't folded are allowed to discard the cards they don't want and receive new cards. A player can discard up to a maximum of three unwanted cards and receive up to three new ones from the deck, as long as each hand is made up of five cards. Poker is always played face down, therefore, no one player sees what any other player has drawn or discarded.

After each player has drawn up to 3 new cards, the betting resumes. Each player has the option of opening or checking. Once a player opens, the others can see, raise or fold. The game ends when there are no more raises, or everybody but the winner folds. This is the point where the cards are turned over to see how everybody has faired.

Once you've mastered 5-Card Draw, you may want to try playing one of the many variations of the game.

5 or 7 Card Stud - Rules of Poker

5 or 7 Card Stud is played without the option of trading cards in for new ones. In 5-Card Stud, each player receives five cards and all betting is based on those five cards. 7-Card Stud is very similar, however, each player receives seven cards and must make the best five card hand possible out of the seven cards available. These games are usually played with some cards dealt face up to enable the other players to make bets based on what they perceive to be the strengths and weaknesses of the other players.

Hold’em or Texas Hold'em - Rules of Poker

Hold’em or Texas Hold’em is definitely the most popular variation of Poker. In a game of Hold'em, players get two cards face down and five community cards, which are face-up in the middle of the table and are referred to as the “flop”. After betting is complete, the dealer lays out the flop. The dealer first lays three cards into the flop, so an initial poker hand will consist of the three flop cards and two personal cards. Then, there is another betting round before another card is added to the flop. Another betting round takes place and, finally, the fifth card is added to the flop. Players also have a chance to win by betting and having no other player call before getting seven cards. The goal for each player is to make the best five card hand possible based on his two personl cards and any three cards in the flop.

Lowball - Rules of Poker

The objective of Lowball is to have a hand of the lowest possible value. In other words, a hand with a high card is more valuable than a Royal Flush. The perfect hand in a game of Lowball is a 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of varied suits. (Remember a 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 is a Straight.)

Video Poker Slot Machines - Rules of Poker

In Video Poker, every hand is assigned a certain payout. It's very similar to a real game of Poker, however, your wager is deposited into the machine and the payout depends on what hand the machine shows. Video Poker is a good way to learn your way around a real Poker table.

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