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05-13-2008

Poker Rules

The general game of Poker (Five card draw) is played with a standard deck of fifty-two playing cards. Cards are ranked from high to low in the following order: ACE, KING, QUEEN, JACK, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. ACES are worth more than KINGS which are worth more than QUEENS, which are worth more than JACKS etc, etc. The cards are separated into four suits, which are SPADES, CLUBS, HEARTS and DIAMONDS. The object of the game is to get the highest-valued hand, ranked as follows:

ROYAL FLUSH - Same suit; A-K-Q-J-10.

FIVE OF A KIND - Four cards of the same denomination plus a joker.

STRAIGHT FLUSH - Any five card suit in the same sequence.

FOUR OF A KIND - Four cards of the same index.

FULL HOUSE - Three of a kind combined with a pair.

FLUSH - Any five cards of same suit but not in sequence.

STRAIGHT - Five cards in sequence but not of same suit.

THREE OF A KIND - Three cards of the same index.

TWO PAIR - Two separate pairs.

ONE PAIR - Two cards of the same index.

HIGH CARD - Highest card in your hand.

Poker hand rankings are a function of probability, the more rare the hand the more valuable it is. Before the game begins, players must decide on the betting limit and if you are playing on-line then you will want to choose a betting limit that you can afford. The basic rules are as follows:

Each player places an ante or "token bet" into the kitty before the cards dealt. The ante can be any amount. You need an ante because it guarantees that someone will always win something on each hand. Once everyone has paid their ante, the dealer deals cards face down around the table, starting at the player to his left and continuing clockwise. The dealer always deals to himself last and then deals everyone a first card, then goes back around the circle to deal the second card, and so forth. When everyone has five cards, the remainder of the deck is placed in the middle of the table, and game begins.

Each player looks at their cards without letting anyone else see them, then the first player places a bet. Whilst there are various ways of deciding who bets first, poker beginners are better off by allowing the player directly to the left of the dealer place the first bet. Then to the next hand, the person to his left will bet first and so on around the table for each new hand.

Players have several options as far as the first round of betting goes. If no one has made a bet yet, you have two choices: (OPEN & CHECK)

OPEN: If no betting has been done when your turn comes, you may "open" the kitty. This allows you to make the first bet (any amount up to the betting limit).

CHECK: The opportunity to "check" only occurs if no one has opened the betting round and then it is time for you to decide what to do. When a player checks, it means that they do not want to open the betting, but at the same time they don't want to quit either. If someone opens the betting you now have three choices: (SEE, RAISE, and FOLD)

SEE: When you "see" another player it means that you match their bet. So whatever the other player bets and you still want to stay in the game, however you have to "see" their bet by placing the same amount into the kitty.

RAISE: When you "raise" it requires you to first "see" the previous bet, and then increase the bet. If the previous person bet a R1 and you want to bet more than that, you must then say "I see (match) your $/£, and raise you (increase the bet) another $/£".

FOLD: When someone else opens, you can cut your losses and fold your cards. When you "fold" you "give up" and place your cards face down on the table, and loose whatever you have bet so far. You only "fold" when you think your hand is too weak to compete against the other players.