Poker Game
Rules
The Basics
Poker originated in the saloons of the Wild West and has
probably the most game variants. It is played player against
players and not just against the dealer as in Blackjack,
and there is a lot of psychology involved during play.
Poker is played from a standard deck of 52 cards. Some
variant games use multiple decks or add Jokers or Wild Cards.
The cards are ranked in descending order starting from
the highest; Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5,
4, 3, 2, Ace. Ace can be high or low. There are four suits;
spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs, but no suit is higher
than another.
Each player is dealt five cards and is called a hand. The
hand highest in ranks wins. In some games there are Wild
Cards or Jokers, which can be labelled whatever suit and
rank the possessor wishes to.
The Ranking of Poker Hands
The ranking of poker hands starting from the highest are
as follows:
1. Five of a Kind (with a Wild card or Joker)
2. Royal Flush
3. Straight Flush
4. Four of a Kind
5. Full House
6. Flush
7. Straight
8. Three of a Kind
9. Two Pair
10. Pair
11. High Card
Five of a Kind is only possible when using wild cards and
is the highest possible hand. If more than one hand has
five-of-a-kind, the higher rank wins; e.g. five Aces beat
five kings, which beat five queens, and so on.
Straight Flush is the best natural hand. A straight flush
consists of five cards in sequence and of the same suit.
An Ace high straight-flush is called a Royal Straight Flush
or Royal Flush and is the highest natural hand.
Four of a Kind is a hand that contains of four cards of
the same rank. The hand with the highest rank of four-of-a-kind
beats other four-of-a-kind hands. If there are many wild
cards, as used in some game variants, there could be two
four-of-a-kind hands with the same rank. In this case, the
hand with the higher ranking fifth card wins. This rule
applies to hands that tie, such as a pair or two pairs.
Dead heats split the pot.
Full House is a hand consisting of three-of-a-kind and
a pair. Again, where Wild Cards are used, ties are compared
first by the three-of-a-kind ranking, then the pair.
Flush is a hand consisting of cards that are all of the
same suit in any order.
Straight is a hand consisting of 5 cards in sequence, such
as 5-6-7-8-9. An Ace may either be high (A-K-Q-J-10) or
low (A-2-3-4-5).
Three of a Kind is a hand similar to the four-of-a-kind
hand, except that if the remaining two cards are a pair,
then it becomes a Full House.
Two Pair is a hand that contains two pairs only.
Pair is a hand that contains one pair only.
High Card is a hand that is none of the above and is a
weak hand. If no player has a pair or better, then the hand
that contains the highest ranking card wins. If multiple
players tie with the highest card, then the second highest
card decides, followed by the third and so on.
Playing Poker
In most games players must 'ante' a nominal amount just
to have the cards dealt. Once the cards are dealt, the betting
starts. Players bet into the pot in the middle of the table
and it is done in turn clockwise.
The player with the highest rank showing, is the first
to speak and to bet. He can either bet or check. By saying
'Check', he passes the decision to bet to the next player
who can also check. If all players check, then it is the
end of the round. Everyone opens his cards and the highest
hand wins.
Only after one player places a bet the real betting starts.
Each player in turn can either 'Call', 'Raise' or 'Fold'.
To fold is to pass or drop out of the round and not play.
To call means willing to match the bet, and the same amount
must be placed on the pot. To raise means to match the bet
and add an extra bet.
Say you start with a $5 bet. If someone else raises $10,
he puts $15 in the pot. When your turn comes again you need
to add $10 difference to the pot to stay in the game, and
if you want you can also raise or even say 'Pot'. Pot is
a raise to the maximum, which means to bet the same amount
as the total money available in the pot.
If there are no more raises and all the cards have been
dealt, then it is the end of the round. Everyone opens his
closed cards and the highest hand wins the pot.
Variations:
- Seven card stud poker:
Game summary
Of all the poker games most commonly played in public cardrooms,
Seven Card Stud is probably the most popular. In this game,
each player is dealt seven cards of their own: two cards
in the hole and one face up, followed by an opening bet.
Then three cards face up, with a betting round after each
card dealt, and a final card in the hole with a final bet.
(CC) C bet; C (bet); C (bet); C (bet); (C) bet. The player
makes a hand using any five cards from the seven dealt.
The highest hand wins the pot.
- Caribbean Stud Poker
Game summary
A casino table game based on the standard 5-card stud poker
game played on a Blackjack-type table. Some casinos also
offer a progressive jackpot paid to high ranking hands.
This table game is played with one deck of cards.
Here the player competes against the dealer's hand. Each
player makes the opening bet called 'ante'. Players then
have the option to bet $1.00 to participate in the progressive
jackpot. Players win all or part of the progressive jackpot
with a Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full
House or Flush.
Players place the opening bet 'ante'. Then the dealer deals
in turn giving five cards each face down, including himself
except for the dealer's fifth card, which is face up. After
examining the cards, the player must decide on one of two
options:
Either place a bet on the 'play' mark equal to the 'ante'
amount and continue the game, or
Fold and withdraw from that round and forfeit the 'ante'
wager.
Once all the players made their decisions, the dealer will
open his or her cards. The dealer's hand must contain an
Ace-King or better to qualify and challenge the players
hands, otherwise the dealer folds and only the 'ante' wagers
are paid, at 1:1 irrespective of ranking. The 'play' bet
is returned to the player.
If the dealer's hand qualifies with an Ace-King or better,
then the players cards are opened and compared against the
dealer's. If the dealer's hand is better than the player's
hand, then the player loses both, the 'ante' and 'play'
wager.
If the player's hand is better than the dealer's, then
the dealer pays the player for both wagers; the 'ante' and
the 'play'. For the 'ante' the payoff is fixed at 1:1 irrespective
of the hand ranking. For the 'play' wager the payoffs vary
according to the ranking of each player's hand.
The payoffs may differ between casinos but basically they
are as follows:
- A Pair - Even Money
- Two Pairs - 2 to 1
- Three of A Kind - 3 to 1
- Straight - 4 to 1
- Flush - 5 to 1
- Full House - 7 to 1
- Four of A Kind - 20 to 1
- Straight Flush - 50 to 1
- Royal Flush - 100 to 1
Irrespective of the dealer's hand, if a player has a hand
that qualifies for the progressive jackpot, the player wins
according to the ranking of his hand. If two or more players
win, the winnings are shared. The jackpot payoffs are as follows:
- Royal Flush - 100% of the Jackpot
- Straight Flush - 10% of the Jackpot
- Four of a Kind - $100
- Full House - $75
- Flush - $50
House advantage 5.22%
- Let it ride poker:
Game summary
Let it ride is a poker variation. The object of the game
is to get a pair of 10s or better using three cards dealt
to the player and two "community" cards given
to the dealer. In this game everyone plays against the casino.
To start with, each player makes three bets of equal amount.
Then the dealer gives each player three cards and takes
two community cards placed face down. After seeing their
first three cards each player has the choice to take one
of their three bets back or to leave it out and 'let it
ride'.
Then the dealer turns over one of the two community cards,
which apply to all hands on the table, and each player has
the option to take out another bet or to 'let it ride'.
The player may leave their bet in or take it out the second
time irrespective of their first decision.
The dealer then shows the second community card. Winners
are paid based on hands which have a pair of 10s or better
with a pair of 10s paying even money, as follows:
- Tens or better 1 to 1
- Two pair: pays 2 to 1
- Three of a kind: pays 3 to 1
- Straight: pays 5 to 1
- Flush: pays 8 to 1
- Full house: pays 11 to 1
- Four of a kind: pays 50 to 1
- Straight flush: pays 200 to 1
- Royal flush: pays 1,000 to 1
House advantage 3.5%
- Pai gow poker:
Game summary
Pai Gow Poker is a mixture of the ancient Chinese game
of Pai Gow with classic American poker. It's played with
a standard 53 card deck, including a Joker. The Joker can
only be used as an Ace, or to complete a Straight or a Flush.
The game is one-to-one, the player (or players) plays against
the banker, each competing to make the best possible hand.
Due to a rather slow pace and a lot of ties pai gow poker
is less intense than most casino games and a modest bankroll
can usually last a long time.
Each player is dealt seven cards. The cards are arranged
into two hands: a 2-card hand and a 5-card hand. Rankings
are like the classic poker. The highest 2-card hand is Aces
and the highest 5-card hand is a royal flush.
The 5-card hand must be higher than the 2-card hand. For
example, if the 2-card hand is a pair of fours, the 5-card
hand must contain a pair of fives or better.
The object of the game is for the player to have both hands
to rank higher than those of the banker. If the player wins
on one hand but loses on the other, it's a push and no money
changes hands. If one hand ranks the same as the banker's
hand, it's a tie but in this case the banker wins. Winning
hands are paid even money, less a 5% commission. Losing
hands lose the amount wagered.
House advantage 2.5%
