Beginner's Guide - Poker Rules

Poker can be difficult and confusing when you are starting out as a beginner. There are many variations to this game which when combined with a collection of betting structures, make understanding poker rules seem like doing a graduate course in itself. But do not worry; this beginner's guide can help you with the basics of poker. After reading this you will be good to go!

Poker is a card game where players bet money on the strength and value of their cards (called hands). The person with the highest hand is the winner. There are different poker hand ranking rules for different poker games. Almost all variants of poker commonly have rounds of betting and end with a comparison of players' cards called a showdown. Poker is quite an easy game to learn but you need years of practice to master it and of course you must understand the poker rules.

Poker Hand Ranking

Below are the fundamental poker hand rankings used in most poker games including Texas holdem. More or less all poker games are played with a standard single 52 card deck.

• Royal Flush - This is the best possible hand in any game of poker - Ten, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of the same suit.
• Straight Flush - Five cards in sequence and all of them of the same suit - two, three, four, five and six of Spades.
• Four of a Kind - Any four cards matching numerically - Ace from all suits.
• Full House - Three of a kind plus a pair in the same hand - three Queens and two Jacks.
• Flush - Any five cards of the same suit, not necessarily in any order - five, seven, two, Jack and Ace from Clubs.
• Straight - Five cards of any suit, but in sequential order - Diamonds Ace, Hearts two, Spades three, Diamonds four and Clubs five.
• Three of a kind - Any three cards out of five, matching numerically - three Kings from Diamonds, Spades and Clubs.
• Two Pair - Two different pairs in the same hand of any suit - two Queens and two Jacks.
• Pair - Any two numerically matching cards - two tens.
• High Card - The highest ranked card among all players is in your hand. Ace is considered the highest and two is the lowest.

Poker Rules For Betting Structures

According to poker rules, there are mainly three types of betting structures in poker - Limit, No Limit and Pot Limit. Limit games have preset amounts that you can bet on during each round. In No Limit games players are free to bet any amount. Pot Limit betting is capped at the size of the pot, which can rise exponentially according to the number of bets being made.

So now you know the basic poker rules. However, you need to be aware of local etiquette rules and the House rules of the casino to avoid any confusion while playing. So check out our poker rule guide and enjoy playing one of the most famous games in the world!