Poker rules is an all too encompassing phrase these days. With the advent of televised poker, there are far too many types of poker to cover with a basic rules blanket. Some things do remain consistent in each type of game.

The hierarchy

• A Royal Flush is the top five cards…A, K, Q, J, ten…of one particular suit: all hearts, all spades, etc.
• A Straight Flush is five consecutive cards of the same suit…5 clubs, 6 clubs, 7 clubs, 8 clubs, 9 clubs.
• Four of a kind is four cards of the same rank…4 queens, 4 sevens, 4 deuces, etc. Of course, the higher the rank, the better.
• A full house is two of one rank, and 3 of another rank. AAA77 is said to be Aces over sevens. The three carded rank gets first priority. So if a player has KKK44, and another player has 555AA, the player with the kings wins.
• A flush is five cards, all of the same suit.
• A straight is five cards in consecutive order.
• Three of a kind is just as it sounds, 3 cards of the same rank.
• Two pair is made up of two cards of one rank, and two cards of another rank: AA33, 8822.
• One pair two cards of same rank.
• High card.

In all cases, winning hands are based on the highest card. If two players have the same hand-for instance, both have a straight-then the highest card determines the winner.

Show me the money

There are a different number of rounds depending on which poker game is being played. Cards are always dealt clockwise, and the position to the dealer is crucial in determining whether to bet and how much. The player has a choice of:

• Check-A player can check and stay in the game without betting until another player bets. At that time the player who checked must bet or fold.
• Bet-A player puts in an amount of chips depending on how strong he feels his hand is, compared to the other players.
• Call-A player matches the bet of a previous player.
• Raise-If a player feels his hand his strongest, he might want to bet more than the previous player’s bet.
• Fold-If a player’s hand is no good, he throws his cards in and waits for the next hand.

After all cards are out, and all betting is completed the player with the best hand, OR the player who was able to bluff at having the best hand, wins the pot.