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Poker is usually played with a deck of 52 cards, though some variants of the game include two Jokers. Each player is dealt a Poker hand, which consists of five cards. The player with the highest hand wins.
Ground Rules
• Individual cards are ranked from high to low in the following order: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. However, depending on the combination of the cards, an Ace can be ranked as either high or low.
• Suits (Spades, Clubs, Hearts, and Diamonds) are not ranked. This means that a King of Diamonds and a King of Spades are equal.
• Some games may also have cards of a particular rank designated as Wild Cards. A player can use a Wild Card to take on any suit or rank. For example, if all Twos are designated as Wild Cards, a player could use Two of Spades to replace a King of Hearts in a winning combination.
How the game is played
During the course of a hand, players bet into a communal pot. At the end of a hand, the player with the best hand wins the pot.
During a round of betting, you have three choices:
- Call: You call to equal what has been bet since the last time that you bet.
- Raise: You raise to increase the bet to an amount above the preceding bets. When you raise, you would both equal the amount that you bet the last time when you called and then raise the bet to another amount.
- Fold: You fold if you would like to move out of the current betting round. While you will not have to add any money to the pot, you lose the chance of winning the pot as well.
How you rank poker hands
Winning or losing a game of Poker depends on how your hands are ranked. Let's look at the different Poker hands and how they are ranked:
- Five of a Kind: This is the highest possible Poker hand and is only possible when using a Joker. It consists of five cards of the same rank, such as Five Kings. The hand with the higher rank wins. For example, five Aces would beat five Kings.
- Royal Flush: This is the highest possible natural hand. It consists of a set of Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten - all in the same suit. All Royal Flushes are equal.
- Straight Flush: This consists of five cards of the same suit in sequence. When comparing two such hands, the hand with the card of a higher rank would score over the other. But in this case, it is important to remember that an Ace could be either high or low - depending on the sequence of the hand. In the sequence, A-K-Q-J-T, the Ace would be high; but in the sequence, 5-4-3-2-1, the Ace would be low.
- Four of a Kind: This consists of four cards of the same rank. The fifth card could have any rank or suit. An example of this would be 5-5-5-5-6. When comparing two such hands, the hand with the higher set of four cards ( for example, 9-9-9-9-2) wins over the lower ranked one (for example, 2-2-2-2-A).
- Full House: This consists of three of a kind and a pair. An example of this would be 10-10-10-2-2. In case of a tie, the winning hand would be determined by the rank of the three of a kind, and then the pair. This means that 10-10-10-2-2 beats 4-4-4-9-9, which beats 4-4-4-2-2.
- Flush: This consists of five cards of the same suit, but any rank and sequence. When comparing two such hands, the hand with the higher rank scores over the other. If the first card is equal, the second card is taken.
- Straight: This consists of any five cards of any suit in sequence. When comparing two such hands, the hand with the higher ranks wins (10-9-8-7-6 beats 9-8-7-6-5).
- Three of a Kind: This consists of three of a kind and two other cards (for example, 4-4-4-9-2). When comparing two such hands, the three of a kind with the higher ranking wins. If the three of a kind of two hands are equal, the fourth and fifth cards are compared.
- Two Pairs: This consists of two pairs and a fifth card (for example, 9-9-8-8-4). When comparing two such hands, the winner is decided first on the basis of the rank of the higher pair. If this is tied, we move to the lower pair and finally the odd card.
- Pair: This consists of a pair and three other cards (for example, 6-6-8-4-3). When comparing two such hands, the rank of the pair determines the winner. If this is tied we move to the highest odd number, the second highest odd number, and so on.
- High Card: This consists of cards that do not fit into any other combinations. When comparing two such hands, the hand with the highest rank wins. If this is tied, we move to the second highest hand, and so on.
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