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Poker
General Rules
Overview
Poker is a game of many flavors as it has taken on a variety forms over
the years. There are many different versions of poker rules and strategy
from all around the world. Here, we will cover one of the most basic and
common forms of Poker called "Five Card Draw," which
provides an excellent foundation to build on when learning the many
varieties of Poker.
Gaming Items
Standard 52-card deck.
Players and Personnel
Players - Between 2 and 6 players.
Object of the Game
The object of the game is to obtain a 5-card combination or
"Hand" of cards with the highest value according to the type of
Poker that you are playing. Each card is ranked in value.
Card Ranking from high to low: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7,
6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. (Aces can count as high or low)
Suits of Cards: Hearts,
Diamonds, Clubs, Spades. All suits have equal value.
Basic Rules of Play
Generally, most types of Poker require each player to "Ante up"
by placing a minimum amount of money/chips on the table or in the
"pot" prior to any cards being dealt. The cards are then
shuffled and each player is dealt 5 cards usually in a clockwise
direction. Players examine their cards to decide if their current hand can
beat all other player's hands. A round of betting now occurs at which time
all players can either "Call" "Raise" or
"Fold." Below is an explanation of the three options.
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Call: Betting enough money or chips to match
what has been bet by other players since the last time that you bet.
On the first round of betting, the player in the first position can
"check" which means that he or she does not owe anything to
the pot because the pots value has not been increased yet.
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Raise: Betting enough money or chips to
match what has been bet by other players since the last time that you
bet and then increasing the value of your bet. Usually, there will be
a maximum limit that you can raise per round.
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Fold: You are dropping out of this hand of
cards losing any money or chips that you have contributed to the pot.
Your cards are placed face-down on the table and are never revealed to
the other players. You do not have to bet any more money.
Once every player has either bet or folded, each player
has the option to replace or "discard" up to three cards
from his or her hand in hopes of obtaining new cards that will increase
the value of the hand. Once all players have had the chance to receive new
cards, another round of betting begins. This cycle continues until all
players either "call" or "fold" out of a particular
round of betting. (If any of the players "raise" during the
betting round, the cycle continues.) At this time, all players must reveal
their hand of cards. The player with the highest hand value wins the pot.
Poker (Five-card draw) Hand Values
Below is a list of Poker hands ranked from highest to lowest in hand
value.
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Five of a Kind: The highest hand possible
and can only be achieved when using wild cards. All cards have the
same face value.
Ex. Having 4 queens and a wild card taking on the value of a queen.
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Straight Flush: Five cards of the same suit
that are in ascending order. Ex: (4,5,6,7,8) of spades. Like a regular
straight, you can have and 'ace' that counts as either a high card or
low card. Ex: (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten) of Hearts where the 'ace'
is the high card. This is also called a Royal Flush. A hand
where the ace counts as the low card or 1 would look like
(5,4,3,2,1) of hearts.
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Four of a Kind: Four cards with the same
value in a hand. Ex: 4 of Diamonds, 4 of Hearts, 4 of Spades, 4 of
Clubs, 9 of Hearts. If two players have a "four of a
kind" hand, the hand with the highest value set of cards wins.
Ex: player A has (5,5,5,5,K), player B has (9,9,9,9,2). Player B would
win. In certain versions of poker where there are many wildcards, it
is possible that two or more players might have equal "four of a
kind." hands. In the event of a tie, the hand with the highest
value fifth card would win.
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Full House: Three of a kind and a pair.
Ex: Queen of Spades, Queen of Hearts, Queen of Diamonds, 4,4. If two
players have a full house, the player with the higher value first
three of a kind wins. Ex: King of Spades, King of Hearts, King of
Diamonds, 4,4 beats Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts, Jack of Clubs,
4,4.
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Flush: All of the cards are of the same
suit. Ex:(2,4,6,7,9) of Spades. In the event of a tie, the person
holding the highest valued card wins. Ex: (2,3,5,7,J) of Hearts beats
(3,5,6,7,9) of Clubs because the high card out of the two hands is the
Jack. In the event that two or more players tie on the high card, the
2nd highest card determines the winner from all hands. Ex: (2,4,5,9,J)
of Diamonds beats (4,5,7,8,J) of Clubs. Both of the hands contain a
Jack as the high card, therefore the second highest card in each hand
is used to determine the winner. The second highest card is the 9 of
diamonds in the first hand which beats the 8 of Clubs in the second
hand.
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Straight: Five cards of any suit in
ascending order. Ex:(3,4,5,6,7) of any suit. An 'Ace' can counts as
either a high card or low card. Ex: (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten) of
any suit where the 'ace' is the high card. A hand where the ace counts
as the low card or 1 would look like (5,4,3,2,1) of any suit. In
the vent of a tie, the hand with the highest straight wins. Ex:
(3,4,5,6,7) of any suit beats (2,3,4,5,6) of any suit.
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Three of a Kind: Three cards with the same
value and two that are not a pair. Ex: 7 of Hearts, 7 of Diamonds, 7
of Spades, 2 of Clubs, 6 of Clubs. If two or more players hold the
same hand due to wild cards, the player with the highest valued card
of the remaining two cards wins. Ex: (5,5,5,2,9) beats (5,5,5,2,4).
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Two Pair: Two sets of distinct pair of
cards. Ex: (2,2,K,K). The highest set of pair wins in the event of a
tie. Ex: (5,5,7,7) beats (4,4,5,5).
- Pair: One pair of cards in the hand. Ex: (5,5,7,J)
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High Card: This is any hand that does not
have any of the properties of the hands listed above. In the event
that no player has at least a pair, the player with the highest card
wins.
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