Poker: Basic Rules
Overview:
Poker is a card game played against other players. A poker game, no matter what variant, is a matter of getting the best five card hand.
For now, it’s important to learn what the various possible hands are. I will first give you a list of the hands (with a short bit of info on each), from worst to best, and then go into detail.
- Rags – Nothing that makes anything in particular. It’s just a bunch of useless cards.
- Pair – Two cards of the denomination.
- Two Pair – Two separate, different pairs.
- Three of a Kind – Three cards of the same denomination.
- Straight – Five cards in sequential order.
- Flush – Five cards, all of the same suit, in non-sequential order.
- Full House – A Three of a Kind and a Pair.
- Four of a Kind – Four cards of the same denomination.
- Straight Flush – Five cards, all of the same suit, in sequential order.
Royal Flush – The Top five cards of one suit.
If you get cards that make nothing (no pair, not of the same suit, not in any sequential order), this is called Rags. The highest hand of this kind would be an Ace. If you had nothing good but an ace and I had nothing but a King, you would win.
Rags:
If you get cards that make nothing (no pair, not of the same suit, not in any sequential order), this is called Rags/High Card. The highest hand of this kind would be an Ace. If you had nothing good but an ace and I had nothing but a King, you would win.
Pair:
If you have two cards of the same denomination (i.e., two 7s), that would be a pair. The higher the pair, the better the hand (i.e., two aces beat two kings).
Two Pair:
You could have two pairs (i.e., two 2s & two 8s). If you end up with two pair and I end up with two pair, the highest of the pairs wins the hand (i.e., if two aces & two 6s are against two kings and two 8s, the aces and 6s wins).
Three of a Kind:
Three of a Kinds are three cards all of the same denomination (i.e., three 7s). Much like with a pair, if two three of a kinds are competing, the higher of the three of a kinds wins (i.e., three aces beat three kings).
Straight:
A straight is any five cards in sequential order, such as a 4, a 5 a 6, a 7, and an 8 (this particular hand would be called an “eight-high straight”). They are in order as if they were on a number line. A straight must be in order like the below example. A 2, a 4, a 6, an 8, and a 10 (sequential evens) is not a viable hand. The highest card in competing straights will win the hand (so a ten-high straight beats an eight-high straight).
Flush:
A flush is any five cards, all of the same suit (referred to as “suited”), in non-sequential order, such as an ace, 4, 5, 8, and king of clubs (this particular example is called a “king-high flush”). They aren’t in any order, but they are all clubs. Like a straight, the highest card is what you look at to see who wins. So a king-high flush beats an eight-high flush.
Full House:
A Full House is a 3 of a kind pair up with a pair (i.e., three kings and two 4—the kings are said to be “over” the 4. The kings make up the 3 of a kind). Much like in two-pair, the highest of the 3 of a kind wins the hand (so a full house with kings over 4s would beat a full house with 6s over aces).
Four of a Kind:
Four of a kind are four cards all of the same denomination (i.e., four kings). Much like with pairs and 3 of a kind, if two 4 of a kinds are competing, the higher of the 4 of a kinds wins (i.e., four aces beat four kings).
Straight Flush:
A straight flush is (much like the name implies) a flush with all the cards in sequential order (i.e., a 4, a 5, a 6, a 7, and an 8, all of spades). As with a straight and a flush, when 2 straight flushes are against each other, the highest straight flush wins (i.e., an 8-high straight flush beat a 6-high straight flush).
Royal Flush:
The best hand is a royal flush which is the very best straight flush possible. It’s a ten, jack, queen, king, and ace all suited. Unless you’re playing a wild card game (which Jackpot Casino Events do not run), this is the very best hand you could possibly have.
How to Play:
Before getting into the various games of poker, a bit can be said on the very basic way to play the game. No matter what variant, poker is a game against the other players. You and everyone else will be dealt cards. Over time, opportunities will present themselves to potentially improve whatever cards you have. You and everyone else can bet during the game at specific times (depending on the variant), in an attempt to get money out of each other, by trying to get others to bet more money.
Since it’s a game against other players, you’re going to have to “figure out” what the other person has. Poker is a game of skill more than luck. The better you get at reading people (how they play, how they bet, their mannerisms), the better you’ll play.
We’ll take a quick moment to cover betting. Generally, any game will open with an ante or blinds. An ante is the bet before the game begins (before the dealer gives out any cards). This will go into the communal pot that everyone plays for.
A blind is a different kind of opening bet (generally used in Texas Hold’em). One person will be designated as the small blind (usually the person sitting left of the dealer), and the person to his left will be the big blind. Those two people put in the first two bets, prior to the dealer giving out any cards. Those bets can be almost anything (at Jackpot Casino Events, they are $5 for small blind, $10 for big blind). The big blind is the full opening bet for the first round, the small blind is half the opening bet. The purpose of the blind is to get the betting pot “started”. In Texas hold’em, you can bet, raise or check. Checking means you don’t want to “leave” the hand, but you also don't want to bet. If the other players after you also check, there will be no money in the pot for that round. It’s possible to go through all rounds, and everyone check. With no blinds, there would be no money in the pot at all, the blinds get the betting started and ensure there is money in the pot to start the action.
The thing about blinds to realize is that, unlike in an ante, the blinds are actual bets for the round. Anyone else betting that round has to at least match the amount bet in the big blind (for our example, $10), if they want to stay in. They can bet more, but they have to at least match (“call”) the big blind.
Blinds are only used in the first round of betting. After that, while the minimum bet required to start betting in a round is still the same size as the big blind (for our example, still $10) betting does not have to occur. If no one wants to bet that round, they each can “check,” which basically says, “there is no bet currently, and I don’t want to bet.”
For an example of blinds in action, check out the Texas Hold’em page. There are also pages set up currently for 5 Card Draw and 5 Card and 7 Card Stud (the generally requested variants at events). One more page is also set up to illustrate the pot and gambling.
Jackpot Casino Events dealers can deal any official game of poker that is desired. Wild card & High-low games are not played. The dealers do not play the games, they are there to monitor the game and the make sure everything is played properly.