Poker
is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards (except for Ross
Perot Poker, which is played with less than a full deck). The cards
are ranked from high to low in the following order: Ace, King, Queen,
Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Aces are ALWAYS high. Aces are
worth more than Kings which are worth more than Queens which are
worth more than Jack, and so on. The cards are also separated into
four suits. The suits are:
- Clubs:
- Spades:
- Hearts:
- Diamonds:
But
you already knew that from playing Go Fish, right? The suits are
all of equal value, meaning that no suit is more valuable than another.
It's a very democratic game.
Each
player is dealt five cards. The object of the game is to end up
with the highest-valued hand. From best to worst, hands are ranked
in the following order:
Royal
Flush
Straight Flush
Four of a Kind
Full House
Flush
Straight
Three of a Kind
Two Pair
One Pair
High Card
Royal
Flush
This
is the most valuable hand in all of poker. A Royal Flush is composed
of 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, all of the same suit. It's the
toughest hand to get.
Examples:
HAND
1: |
|
10 |
J |
Q |
K |
A |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HAND
2: |
|
10 |
J |
Q |
K |
A |
Straight
Flush
A Straight
Flush is comprised of five cards in numerical order, all of the
same suit. It's not allowed to "wrap around," such as
Q-K-A-2-3. This is also very rare. If you get two of these in a
row, you are cheating. If there are two Straight Flushes at the
table, then whichever hand's Straight Flush reaches the highest
card value wins. So in the examples below, Hand 2 (which has a King)
would beat Hand 1 (which only goes up to 8).
Examples:
HAND
1: |
|
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HAND
2: |
|
9 |
10
|
J |
Q |
K |
Four of a Kind
Four
cards of the same numerical rank and another random card. If there
are two or more hands that qualify, the hand with the highest-ranking
Four of a Kind wins. In the examples below, Hand 2 would beat Hand
1.
Examples:
HAND
1: |
|
6 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
|
J |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HAND
2: |
|
Q |
Q
|
Q |
Q |
|
3 |
Full House
Of
the five cards in your hand, three have the same numerical rank,
and the two remaining card also have the same numerical rank. Ties
are broken first by the Three of a Kind, then the Pair. So K-K-K-3-3
beats Q-Q-Q-A-A, which beats Q-Q-Q-7-7.
Examples:
HAND
1: |
|
J |
J |
J |
|
4 |
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HAND
2: |
|
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
A |
A |
Flush
A Flush
is comprised of five cards of the same suit, regardless of their
numerical rank. In a tie, whoever has the highest ranking card wins.
In the example below, Hand 1 (with a King) beats Hand 2 (with a
Queen).
Examples:
HAND
1: |
|
2 |
4 |
7 |
J
|
K |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HAND
2: |
|
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
Q |
Straight
Five
cards in numerical order, regardless of their suits. Just like with
the Straight Flush, a Straight cannot "wrap
around." In a tie, whoever's Straight goes to a higher ranking
card wins (so in the examples below, Hand 1 beats Hand 2).
Examples:
HAND
1: |
|
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
J |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HAND
2: |
|
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
Three of a Kind
Three
cards of the same numerical rank, and two random cards that are
not a pair.
Examples:
HAND
1: |
|
10 |
10
|
10 |
|
3
|
Q |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HAND
2: |
|
2 |
2
|
2 |
|
8 |
9 |
Two Pair
Two
sets of pairs, and another random card.
Examples:
HAND
1: |
|
7 |
7 |
|
J |
J |
|
5 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HAND
2: |
|
Q |
Q |
|
K |
K |
|
A |
One Pair
One
pair and three random cards. If more than one person has a One Pair,
then the person with the highest ranking pair wins.
Examples:
HAND
1: |
|
8 |
8 |
|
5 |
K |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HAND
2: |
|
2 |
2 |
|
3 |
4 |
5 |
High Card
If
none of the players have anything of value, the player holding the
highest-valued card wins, with the 2 as the lowest card, and the
Ace as the highest. In the case of a tie, you move to the next highest
card, and continue.
Examples:
|