Poker Rules

If you think of 'poker' you naturally think of Texas Hold'em. That's natural – it's Hold'em that you see being played on TV all the time. But many variations of poker exist, but all of them share certain basic rules. All poker games involve betting on the strength of a poker hand, and all poker games feature a "pot" that those bets go into. The player with the strongest hand, or the only player left in the pot after everyone else folds, wins the pot.

All poker games also feature a mandatory bet of some kind. In stud and draw poker games, this is usually called an "ante" and is wagered every hand. In holdem games, this is usually called a "blind" and is wagered when it's the player's turn to post the blind. Some holdem games have antes in addition to blinds.

All poker games feature one or more betting rounds in which the player can make one of the following betting choices:

• Checking
• Betting
• Folding
• Calling
• Raising

When a player has not bet prior to his action, he has the option of checking. To check is to stay in the hand without betting. The person clockwise from the person who checks then gets to act. If everyone checks all around the table, then the betting round is complete, and no money is added to the pot.

Another option a player has when no one else has bet before him is to bet. Every player after the bettor has to choose to fold, call or raise. A player can't check once someone else at the table has bet into the pot.

Folding means giving up any chance of winning the pot, but it also means the player doesn't add any money to the pot. A player who folds is out of action until the next hand is dealt.

To call a bet is to put enough money in the pot to match the bettor's bet. If it's the final round of betting, the person who bet originally has to show his hand to the caller.

To raise a bet is to put more money into the pot, so that the original bettor has to add more money to the pot to stay in the hand. Someone who bets and is subsequently raised by a player later in the betting round also has the option of folding.

When the betting rounds are complete, if there are multiple players still in the pot, there is a "showdown", where the remaining players show their hands to each other. The person with the best hand wins the pot. If there is only one person left in the pot at the end of a betting round (i.e. everyone else folds), that person does not have to show his hand, and he automatically wins the pot.

Poker games are almost always played using a tradition called "table stakes", which means that only the chips that are on the table can be used to bet during a hand. A corollary to this "table stakes" rules is the "all-in" rule, which says that a player doesn't have to forfeit his stake in a pot just because he doesn't have enough chips to cover a bet or a raise. If all of a player's chips are in the pot, he's considered all-in, and additional bets and raises from other players after he is all in go into a side pot. The all-in player has no stake in the subsequent side pot, but does have a chance to win the pot he has a stake in.

Hand Ranking

Hand Ranking for 52 Cards decked Games

When the time comes to decide who gets the pot (showdown), there is a set of almost universally accepted hand rankings to determine who wins. These are listed below from strongest (uppermost) to the weakest.

Royal Flush

The best possible straight flush. Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace all of the same suit.

Straight Flush

Cards of five consecutive ranks, all of the same suit.

Four of a kind

Four cards of any one rank, and any other card.

Full house

Three cards of one rank, and two cards of a second rank.

Flush

Five cards of the same suit that doesn't make a straight.

Straight

Cards of five consecutive ranks when not all five are of the same suit. If two or more players have a straight, the straight with the highest card wins. Suits do not determine the strongest straight. An Ace can be used as high in a straight with Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 or as low in a straight with 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. Only an Ace can be used in this way.

Three of a kind

Three cards of the same rank and two unrelated cards.

Two pair

Two cards of one rank, two cards of another rank, and a fifth.

One pair

Two cards of the same rank and three other unrelated cards.

High card

Known as a 'Busted Hand'. Five unrelated cards - no pair, no flush, no straight.

In the event of a tie, the player with the highest hand is determined by the value of the cards. For example, if two players had the highest ranked hand of a straight, one with an 8 high and the other being 9 high, the 9 high straight would be awarded the pot. Similarly, if two players hold the highest hand of a pair of kings, the highest card outside of the pair, the kicker, will determine the winner of the hand.

When multiple players have exactly the same ranked hand, the pot will be split between them. If the amount of the pot cannot be split evenly amongst the winners, the remainder is given to the player(s) nearest the Dealer.

The hand ranking is slightly modified due to only 32 cards in the deck.

• A low straight consists of cards A789T which is lower than 789TJ.
• A flush is ranked higher than a full house.

If two players hold exactly the same hand, the pot is split with these exceptions:

• If two players have the exact same cards in a straight, the one with the highest suit on the highest card wins. I.E.: in the hand KdQJT9 vs. KsQJT9 the player with Kd (King of Diamonds) wins. Note that in the lowest straight (A789T) the decisive card is the suit of the ten (T).
• If two players have the exact same cards in a flush, the highest suit wins.
• If two or more players have straight flush (5 same cards but different suits), suits ranking will determine final hand ranking. All straight flushes are called “royal flush”.