General description and rules
Poker is a card game in which players bet into a communal pot during the course of a hand. A poker hand consists of five cards.
The player holding the best hand at the end of the betting wins the pot. Poker is a game of skills and acting.
During a current betting round, each remaining player in turn may take one of following actions:
1) Fold: a surrender of interest in the pot in response to another players's bet, accompanied by the loss of one's cards and previous bets;
2) Check: a bet of zero that doesn't forfeit interest in the pot bet;
3) Call: a bet equal to a preceding bet that maintains a player's interest in the pot;
4) Raise: a bet greater than preceding bets that all successive players must match or exceed or else forfeit all interest in the pot.
The ranking of the poker hands is cards is Straight Flush, Four of a kind, Full house, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, Pair, High Card (ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2). Any hand in a higher category beats any hand in a lower category. Between hands in the same category the rank of the cards decides which is better.
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A straight flush (1:72200) is the ultimate hand. Ranking between straights is determined by the value of the high card. Five cards of the same suit in sequence. 5-4-3-2-A is a straight flush, but its top card is the five. A royal flush (1:650000) is a straight flush that has a high card value of Ace.
Four of a kind (1:4200) - Four cards of the same rank.
Full house (1:700) is a combination of three of a kind and a pair. When comparing full houses, the rank of the three cards determines which is higher.
Flush (1:510) is 5 cards of the same suit. When comparing two flushes, the highest card determines which is higher. The high card determines the winner. If the highest cards are equal then the second highest card is compared.
Straight (1:250) is a hand in which all of the cards are consecutive. A straight cannot wrap around (Q,K,A,2,3 isn't straight). When comparing straights, the one with the higher card is better.
Three of a Kind (1:48) - Any three cards with the same value. When comparing two threes of a kind the hand in which the 3 equal cards are of higher rank is better.
Two Pair (1:21) - two sets of two cards of equal value constitute a hand that has two pairs. The hand with the highest pair wins. If the higher pairs are equal, the lower pairs are compared. If both pairs are the same, the odd cards are compared.
Pair (1:2.4) - One pair of two equal value cards constitutes a pair. The hand with the higher pair is better. If the pairs are equal, compare the odd cards in turn.
High Card - 5 cards which do not form any of the combinations. The 'High Card' with the better highest card wins. If the highest cards are equal next card are comparing in turn.
In Straight or Draw Poker each player is dealt five cards. The object of any Poker game is to take the cards you are dealt and make them into the best possible card combination in an effort to beat the other players. In Straight Poker you must make the best of the cards you are dealt with no chance of improving them. Draw Poker allows you to exchange cards and therefore make the betting a little more interesting. Poker is a game that involves a good deal of bluffing, in the hope of fooling the other players into thinking you have a better hand than you actually do. Succeeding at a good bluff can depend on the quality of your poker face. If your hand is a Royal Flush, you don't want your opponents to know that. If your hand is atrocious, but you want to stay in the game, you can try smirking a little throughout the betting process to fool other players into thinking you have a good hand. Bluffing relies heavily on your poker face.