These are the basic rules that apply to all variations of poker that you might play. For more specific poker rules for popular games, check out Texas Holdem Poker Rules, Omaha Poker Rules, Seven-Card Stud Poker Rules and RAZZ Poker Rules. After you've learned the rules, you can download our free Betraiser.com software and play for free as long as you want. It's a great way to learn before you put your money on the table!

Basics

A standard pack of 52 playing cards is used in poker. There are four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs). No suit is worth more than any other. The card ranking is as follows: Ace (the highest), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (the lowest). The Ace can also be used as the lowest card if it helps make a better combination. All poker hands contain five cards, and the strongest hand wins. The number of cards dealt depends on what game you are playing. For example, you receive five cards in Five-Card Stud, while you receive seven cards in Seven-Card Stud. This may seem obvious, but that's why this section is called Basics! Five-Card Draw is the standard poker game in which each player is dealt 5 cards face down.

Hand ranking

If you are going to play poker, you should learn how to make a poker hand, which hands are strong, and how different poker hands rank against one another. When you're learning, you might want to keep a copy of the hand rankings in sight, but most players prefer to memorize the chart.

1. Royal Flush - The best possible hand. A-K-Q-J-10, all of the same suit.
2. Straight Flush - A Straight Flush is a straight (5 cards in order, such as 7-8-9-10-J) with all the cards being the same suit. As with a regular Straight, aces can be either high (A-K-Q-J-10) or low (A-2-3-4-5). An ace can't be used in a wraparound. For example, K-A-2-3-4 is not a straight.
3. Four-of-a-Kind - Four cards of the same rank. For example, A-A-A-A or K-K-K-K. If there are two or more hands have Four-of-a-Kind, the hand with the higher ranked Four-of-a-Kind wins.
4. Full House - A Full House is a three of a kind and a pair. For example, K-K-K-2-2. If two or more hands have Full Houses, the highest ranking Three-of-a-Kind wins. For example, J-J-J-5-5 beats 9-9-9-A-A. If the Three-of-a-Kind cannot determine the winner, then the highest ranked Pair wins. (This could happen in a game with wild cards or in Texas Hold'em).
5. Flush - A Flush is a hand where all of the cards are the same suit. For example, A-J-9-7-5, where all the cards are Diamonds. If two or more players have Flushes, the Flush with the highest card wins.
6. Straight - Five cards in order, but not of the same suit. For example, 2-3-4-5-6 is a Straight. The cards can be any combination of the four suits. An ace can either be high or low card, either A-2-3-4-5 or A-K-Q-J-10. An ace can't be used in a wraparound, meaning K-A-2-3-4 is not a Straight. When there are two or more Straights, the highest Straight wins. For example, K-Q-J-10-9 would beat A-2-3-4-5. If two Straights have the same value, like A-K-Q-J-10 versus A-K-Q-J-10, the pot is split.
7. Three-of-a-Kind - Three cards of the same rank. As in other examples, the highest ranking Three-of-a-Kind wins. For example, K-K-K-2-4 would beat Q-Q-Q-2-3. If two or more players have a Three-of-a-Kind of the same rank (which could happen in a wild card game or Texas Hold'em), then the player with the highest remaining card wins.
8. Two Pair - Two pairs and a fifth card. If two or more hands have Two Pair, the highest ranking Pair wins. If two or more hands have the same high Pair, the highest ranking second Pair wins. If two or more hands have the same Pairs, the highest remaining card wins.
9. Pair - One Pair with three other cards. The highest ranking Pair wins. If two or more hands have the same Pair, the highest remaining card wins.
10. High Card - When a hand has none of the above qualifications and nobody has a Pair or better, the highest ranking card wins. If there is a tie for the High Card, the next High Card determines the pot. If there is another tie, then it continues to the third, fourth, and fifth cards. The High Card is also used to break ties when two or more players have the same type of combination (Pair, Flush, Straight, etc).

Betting Procedures

In most poker games, betting starts with an ante before the cards are even dealt. The money is placed in the center of the table and is called the "pot".

When the betting comes to you (betting moves clockwise), you have three choices:

• Call - betting an amount equal to what has been bet since the last time you bet in that particular round of betting. For example, if you bet $1.00 and somebody then bid $2.00, you would owe another $1.00. If you decide to call, then you would put in $1.00 and stay in the hand.
• Raise - when you raise, you first match what has already been bet and then you raise the pot by putting in an additional amount. The limit on how much you can raise depends on the game. For example, if the initial bet was $1.00 and you wanted to raise $1.00, you would then have to put a total of $2.00 into the pot. After raising, the other players must decide to call, raise, or fold.
• Fold - dropping out of the current hand and losing the possibility of winning the pot. When deciding to fold, you don't put money in and you lose only the money that you bet during previous rounds. If it's the first round, you would only lose your ante. Sometimes it's better to fold than to waste money on bad cards. Just remember the old saying, "Money saved is money earned!"

Each poker game has a predetermined number of betting rounds. The highest hand at the end of the game wins the pot. In case two or more hands have the same value the pot is split between them. For more specific rules for popular games, check out the Texas Hold' em Poker Rules , Omaha Poker Rules, and Seven-Card Stud Poker Rules below.