How to play online
Poker? The aim of the game:
What You Need To Play Poker
A 1 52-card poker card deck
Chips or money, depending on the game
Poker Rules:
1. The players either designate a dealer from among their ranks, and rotate the role of the dealer amongst themselves throughout a series of rounds, or in a professional gambling situation, a single dealer will deal throughout the entire game.
2. The dealer shuffles the cards and passes out 5 cards to each player.
3. Each player puts an "ante" in the center of the playing table. This is a small amount added to the "pot", or amount won at the end of the round, to insure that the pot does not remain empty.
4. The player to the right of the dealer begins the bidding. They have three choices. They can 1) Bet, adding an amount to the pot, 2) Pass, meaning that the do not bet but still want to play, or 3) Fold, in which they place their cards face-down on the table and withdraw for the remainder of the round.
5. Each following player in turn has the option to 1) Call, meaning that they match the highest bet of the previous players, 2) Raise, meaning that they increase the amount being bet, 3) Pass, if the players before them did not bet anything, or 4) Fold.
6. All players must match the highest amount that was bet in order to continue playing. That means if player 1 bet 5, and player 2 bet 10, that all players must bet 10 in order to continue playing, including player 1. When the betting returns to player 1, they also have the option of raising the bet again. If they do so, all players must match the bet in order to continue playing.
7. Once the betting is complete, each player, starting at the dealer's right, has the option to turn in up to 4 of their cards to the dealer in return for new cards.
8. Once every player has received their new cards, betting is once again initiated using the same rules above.
9. When betting is complete, each player shows their cards to the other players. The player with the highest scoring hand wins.
Poker Scoring
Below are the hands, in order of ranking, with the highest ranking appearing on the top:
Five of a Kind
In some variations of poker, the dealer or game designates a wild card. In this case, five of a kind is possible, and it is the highest ranking hand.
Straight Flush
A straight flush is when all cards fall in ranking order, i.e. 4-5-6-7-8 or 10-J-Q-K-A, and all of the cards are of the same suit. The higher the numbers, the higher the ranking. For instance, 10-J-Q-K-A ranks higher than 9-10-J-Q-K.
Four of a Kind
Four of a kind is four of the same number card, for instance 6-6-6-6. The higher the ranking of the card, the higher the ranking of the hand.
Full House
A full house is three of one card and two of another. For instance 9-9-9-J-J is a full house.
Straight
A straight is a series of cards in ranking order, of any suit. For instance 4-5-6-7-8.
Three of a Kind
Three of a kind is three cards of the same ranking order, for instance 4-4-4.
Two Pair
Two pair is two pairs of matching rank cards, for instance this hand: 3-3-9-9-K would be two pair because there is a pair of threes and a pair of nines.
Pair
A pair is a single pair of matching rank cards. For instance 6-6-K-4-2 would be a single pair of sixes.
Highest Card
If nobody has any of the above hands, the hand with the highest ranking card wins. If there is a tie for the highest ranking card, then whoever has the second-highest ranking card wins, and so on. |
