Poker is a game of five card hands dealt from a 52 card deck of standard playing cards. All poker hands consist of exactly five cards. Most poker games, like seven card stud for example, give the players more than five cards to select from, but the final winning result goes to the one with the best five card poker hand.
The cards ranking from the highest to the lowest: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Depending on the variations you are playing, the Ace may be the lowest card, but it is usually the highest).
There are four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs). No suit is higher than another.
Depending on the variation of poker the game can be played with a deck of more then 52 cards, by adding a joker or wild cards. A wild card can either be a separate card added like a joker or you may specify a certain card in the standard deck to be wild. The cards that usually are used as wild cards are one or two jokers, 2 of spades, all the deuces, all the deuces and 3's or 10's with the color red.
You will find variations of poker where is used as a wild card a card from a particular position. For instance, in stud poker games the hole card of each player is used as wild and the player may use it to replace any card of any value or suit he does not hold or he can even use the hole wild card to represent any card that he want, even if his hand already contains this card. Wild cards keep the ranking of the cards they represent.
Jokers can be used as wild cards but also can be used in some types of poker games as "bugs", meaning that it can be used only to represent an Ace or any of the cards that the player need to complete a straight or a flush.
In most of the games that you may come across in order to receive your cards, you will must to place an ante bet. After that, players bet or not in clockwise motion, on each hand that follows. In a single play there will be at least one betting interval, and normally two or more. These always follow receipt of cards by player but the precise number and when they occur depend on the form of poker being played. In each betting interval, a certain player will have the right to bet or not to bet first. (How he is chosen depends on the form of the game).
So, after the first player makes his bet, each player in turn must either "drop out", "stay in" or "raise". A bet is not considered made until the bettor has removed his hand from the chips bet: until then it can be withdrawn.
Drop out or Fold
When you fold, you drop out of the current hand (losing any possibility of winning the pot), but you don't have to put any money into the pot after that. Betting continues until everyone calls or folds after a raise or initial bet.
Stay in or Call
When you call, you bet enough to match what has been bet since the last time you bet (for instance, if you bet a dime last time, and someone else bet a quarter, you would owe fifteen cents).
Raise
When you raise, you first bet enough to match what has been bet since the last time you bet (as in calling), then you 'raise' the bet another amount (up to you, but there is typically a limit.) Continuing the above example, if you had bet a dime, the other person raised you fifteen cents (up to a quarter), you might raise a quarter (up to fifty cents). Since you owed the pot 15 cents for calling and 25 for your raise, you would put 40 cents into the pot.
Checking is allowed in many games of poker. A player who checks at the beginning of a betting interval stays in the game for the moment without making a bet. If all payers check, the betting interval ends. But if one player bets, the interval continues as usual: all other players (including those who have checked) must now stay in, drop out or raise. To stay in, a player who has checked must equal the highest bet made so far. If all players check on the first betting interval, the play is void and ends. The next player in turn deals the round.
A round of betting ends when all players checked or only one player remains in action meaning that he wins or when the bets of active players are equalized.
The term of pass is used either to drop out, either to check, that offcourse in games where cheking is allowed. When a player is droping out he must discard his hand.
An essential part of poker is to force the other players to drop out by raising. The only problem with this is that sometimes the game's character can get messed up and to avoid that there are two optional rules for raising: Limit raises and freezing raises.
A limit on raises is agreed in most of the times only before a hand and the possible limits set are:
- Three (or sometimes two) raises by one player in one betting interval
- A total of three raises by all players in one betting interval.
If there have been two or more raises (whether by one or several players), in a single betting interval, any player who has not raised in that betting interval may "freeze the raise". In addition to betting sufficient to stay in, he bets a previously agreed amount, usually two to five times the normal maximum bet. Other active players must then drop out or stay in by equaling his bet. This action only freezes the raise for this betting interval.
In some poker games are offered bonuses. It is sometimes agreed before play that on, showdown, a player holding a royal flush, straight flush, or four will receive a payment from each player, whether active or not. The amount agreed is usually three to five times the maximum bet.
In all poker variants that you will may play you will find betting prohibitions and these are to don't bet for another player. Also you are not allowed to borrow money from another player during a play or to take back a bet after it has been placed in the pool and the bettors hand has been removed. An inadequate bet must be added to, otherwise it is lost and the player's cards are dead.
Also, all poker games have some betting limits. Before a play can start there must be decided the minimum and maximum on bets. The betting limits are also the raise limits. Note that a player forced to bet, for example, the maximum amount to stay in, may still in that turn raise by the maximum (an by any lesser amount). Sometimes it is agreed that either:
- any amount between the limits is acceptable as a bet or raise;
- only specified amounts between the limits are acceptable as a bet or raise ; or
- No amount between the limits is acceptable as a bet or raise.
During play the min and max limits on bets can change; for example limits for the final betting are always twice the earlier limits.
The opening bet is agreed by agreed limits. Thereafter, the maximum bet or raise is the amount put in the pool by the previous bettor's actions.Players must decide if each betting interval should recommences at the original limits or if continuous growth is allowed over a single play.
The opening bet is governed by agreed limits. Thereafter, the maximum bet or raise is the total amount in the pool at that time. To calculate this, a player wishing to raise may include in the pool total the sum needed for him to stay in. Agreement on an absolute maximum is still necessary.
Before the session, each player puts any amount of money he wishes onto the table, or buys chips to that amount. Any amount a player wins is added to his table amount. He may also from his own pocket, increase the table amount - but not during a play, and only by at least the agreed minimum. During a play a player may not: borrow from or owe money to the pool; decrease his table amount or withdraw chips from it or sell chips back to the banker until he withdraws from the game.
The maximum betting limit for a player is his table amount at the time (the minimum is the amount agreed beforehand). If a players table amount is used up in a play, he has the right to remain in for the main pool showdown. Any amounts bet by other players, above the amount he has bet, are put into a side pool.
In a poker game are some prohibitions that a player must always follow if he wants to remain in the game:
- A player may not attempt to make a private arrangement with any other player (e.g. divide the pool without a showdown) ;
- surrender his turn as a dealer, unless physically unable to deal;
- look at the discards (either before or after the showdown), at undealt cards, at another players hand, or at a hole card ( in stud poker);
- take chips or money from the pool during play, except as correct change for a verbally stated bet;
- leave the table taking his cards with him (he should ask another player, preferably a non-active one, to play his hand for him - if he fails to do so and misses his turn, his hand is dead)
