Poker

It's hard to imagine another game that has more variations than Poker. The games vary based on whether you are having a poker night or playing in the Casino's. We will review the basics.

Poker is a game in which players bet into a communal pot during the course of a hand, and in which the player holding the best hand at the end of the betting wins the pot. During a given betting round, each remaining player in turn may take one of four actions:

Poker Actions
1. Check: a bet of zero that does not forfeit interest in the pot

2. Bet or Raise: a nonzero bet greater than preceding bets that all successive players must match or exceed or they are out of that game.

3. Call: a nonzero bet equal to a preceding bet that maintains a player's interest in the pot

4. Fold: a surrender of interest in the pot in response to another player's bet, accompanied by the loss of one's cards and previous bets

Betting normally proceeds around the table until each player has either called all bets or folded. Different poker games have various numbers of betting rounds interspersed with the receipt or replacement of cards.


Standard Poker
Each player is dealt 5 cards

You must then determine whether you would like to use all your cards to create a winning hand or whether you would like to return cards to the dealer in order to obtain additional cards for your hand. Note: You receive back the same amount of cards you return to the dealer. (In video poker you delete cards)

Once the betting rounds have commenced and the cards are shown, then the player with the best hand wins. 

Note: Poker is normally played with a 52 card deck. 



So What Poker Hand Beats Another

The following is the hierarchy of poker hands, from best to worst. 

Straight Flush: All five of your cards are the same suit AND they are all in sequence. Again, a straight flush of a higher - a A,K,Q,J,10 is the highest Straight Flush.

Four-of-a-kind: Four of your cards are the same.

Full House: This is a combination of a pair and a three-of-a-kind.

Flush: All five of your cards are the same suit. They do not have to be in any sequence, they just have to be of the same suit.

Straight: All five of your cards are in numerical sequence, regardless of the suits of the cards. If there are two straights at the table, then the one of a higher sequence is the better hand.

Three-of-a-kind: Three of your cards are the same.

Two pairs: Fairly self-explanatory.

Pair: Two of your cards are the same, like 2 Jacks.

High card: If you do not have anything in your hand, then your best hand is the highest card in your hand. For example, a King-high means that nothing in your hand matches with anything else, and the King is the highest card in your hand.

Have fun and enjoy.