HOW TO PLAY

House Rules

Please take a look at the house rules for our poker room.

• House Rules

So You Want to Learn How to Play Poker? (Beginner)

• Basic Rules
• Hand Rankings

Never played poker before? No need to fret. Everyone had to start from the beginning at one time or another, even the world championship poker players that we may or may not have grown to admire over the years. 

Poker is easy to learn and difficult to master. Much like golf; it's fairly easy to understand the basics but the subtleties and nuances will have you dashing down your clubs onto a felt-like green surface in frustration.

This section has been created to help to de-mystify the planet's most popular card game. Whether it's a friendly game with close personal acquaintances around the kitchen table or at the final table at the World Championship of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas this game we know as poker has been enjoyed for longer than recorded history.

Of the myriad of games available for our enjoyment "Five Card Draw" provides us with the opportunity to learn the basics on which all other poker games are based.

Let's start from the beginning, shall we?

The Tools of the Trade

A standard 52-card poker deck or any other card deck used to play a variety of games including Bridge and a sleeve or carousel of betting chips. A table and chairs will also come in handy. 

Dealer and Participants

Dealer: gathers, doles out, and handles the cards at all times throughout the round.
Players: generally any number is possible but a comfortable game consists of between 2 and 10 players 

Aim of the Game

Each card has its own rank (explained below). The mission that you chose to accept is to obtain the highest possible 5-card combination of cards within the parameters of the type of game being played.


Card Ranking Made Easy (from high to low): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and Ace. Aces can either be high or low. (I'll take the high ace and you take the low ace and I'll be doublin' the pot before ya) 

Suits of Cards: There is no discrimination between the suits. Spades, Diamonds, Clubs, and Hearts are all created equal in the eyes of God and the Poker Room Manager.

Rules, What Rules?

We may not like it, but polite society is governed by rules and poker is no exception. 

I'm reminded of the scene in the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in which Paul Newman is to be involved in a fistfight with an opponent who is quite obviously his physical superior. Newman's opponent wishes to discuss the ‘rules' of their engagement. If you remember the scene, you'll know where I'm going with this, if not, go rent the video.

Most of the games you will play require you to "Ante up." This is done before any cards are dealt by placing a predetermined amount of your chips in the pot in the center of the playing surface. The cards are shuffled then dealt clockwise to each participating player one card at a time. A round of betting follows after each player has had the opportunity to examine their cards. At this point, a player has the chance to fold, call, or raise. 

What Do You Mean, Fold, Call, or Raise?

Fold

You fold when the cards that you hold are so lousy that to remain in the game would spell certain doom. Correct way to fold: You gently place your cards in front of you face down on the table. Incorrect way to fold: You launch into a string of superlatives and demonstrably throw your cards into the air while pushing yourself away from the table in tears.

At this point you have no further monetary commitment to the hand, your cards are never revealed and the hand is never spoken of again in polite company. 

Call

Does not mean you have the opportunity to "call" someone on the telephone to ask his or her opinion on your hand. This is not Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. 

In order to "call" you are required to contribute the equivalent amount of chips as the other players since your last bet. The player to the left of the dealer has the ability to "check" because the value of the pot has not been established. This is applicable on the first round of betting.

Raise

Similar to a "call" except this time you get to increase the value of your bet when the chance to do so arises since the last time you bet. This is a good strategy if you feel that you have a strong hand or want to see who's "bluffing" (explained later) and who's not. There is generally a maximum limit that you can raise per round.


All right, so far so good. You've folded, called or raised and are now ready to "discard" or replace a pre-determined amount of cards in an attempt to better your hand.

Another round of betting begins once you have received the new (and hopefully better) cards. 

The player with the highest hand value wins the pot. But before this can happen, all players are required to either "fold" or "call" during that particular round of betting. Now if someone was to "raise" during the round then we are required to start all over again. When the cycle is finally complete, all the players must reveal their cards.

Poker Hand Rankings

Poker would be a pretty weird game if at the end of each hand we exposed our hands and decided at that time which cards beat which and in what order. So in order to maintain harmony in the card playing universe hand rankings where invented.

Below are the universally excepted hand rankings from high to low.

Five of a Kind

This occurs when all five cards have the same value. In order to hold five of a kind a wild card must be used. Some poker purists' poo poo the idea of using wild cards, however we would be remiss if we omitted this possible combination.

Royal/Straight Flush

Aw, the Royal Flush. The King of all hands. The one we all strive for but seldom achieve. It's the reason we play the game.

The Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten of any suit. I like the sound of it. How possible is it to achieve this poker nadir? I'm glad you asked. You have 1 chance in 650,000 hands dealt to reach the Holy Grail of hands.

Five cards of the same suit in ascending order. This would constitute a Straight Flush. Not unlike a regular straight, an ace counts as either a high/low card. 

Four of a Kind

Need I say more? You know that I will. It's the same as saying four cards of the same rank e.g. a jack of spades, diamonds, clubs and hearts. In the unlikely event that two players have a "four of a kind" hand, the hand with the highest value set of cards wins. I should however mention at this time that there are many games of poker that involve wild cards. In the event of a tie during a wild card game, the player with the highest fifth card would be declared the winner. 

Full House

A full house is three of a kind and a pair, not a bad sit-com starring Bob Saget. 
The player with the higher value first three of a kind wins in the event of a tie.

Flush

The thought of flushing is what first enters a player's head as He/She view their first five cards. Resist the temptation. A Flush simply means that your hand contains cards of all the same suit. If two players have the same hand the winner is the player holding the highest valued cards. For example, if the highest card in your hand is a ten and the other players' highest card is an eight, you're the winner. WooHoo! 

Straight

A Straight is five cards of any suit in ascending order. The ace can be either high or low and the high straight wins the tie.

Three of a Kind

An example of a Three of a Kind would be: 9 of Hearts, 9 of Diamonds, and a 9 of Spades. The other two cards are used in the event of a tie. This is provided that "wild cards" are used. The highest remaining two cards would be used to establish a winner.

Two Pair

Two sets of pairs. Ex: (4,4,Q,Q). The highest pairs take the pot in case of a tie.

Pair

One pair of cards in your hand. K,K or 4,4.

High Card

Highest card takes all in the event of a complete breakdown of the above hands.

It's Time to Raise the Level of Your Game

Armed with the above knowledge, potato chips and a sizable bankroll, you're now ready to take the next tentative steps in your quest for an understanding of the great game of poker.

The next chapter will focus on some of the elements that will help you to understand the background of the game by concentrating on the history, language and odds. 

By the end of the chapter you will know what a Dead Man's Hand is, how to converse in pokerspeak and what the odds are of being dealt a Full House.

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