Poker Rules

Poker Games

There are almost as many types of games of Poker as there are players in this country. For instance, Draw Poker; 5 Card, 6 Card, or 7 Card Stud; Lo-Ball; Hi-Lo; Redeye; Hold- Em; Indian; Jacks or Better; Baseball; and other local variations that are too numerous to mention Poker - Video poker calculation.
Poker has found its way into our lives through entertainment. Every Western has its saloon scene with a Poker game (and invariably a cheater). There was even a television series, “Maverick,” that was based on the exploits of a Poker-playing “good guy.” Legend has it that Wild Bill Hickock was shot to death while holding a Play poker hand with two pairs of “Aces and Eights,” giving rise to the term “dead man’s hand.” Also, since Poker is one of the few games where the player may misrepresent his hand while betting, or attempt to bluff his way to success, the term “call your bluff” has come into everyday usage.

Rules for Poker

Although House Rules can differ along with the particular game being played, there has been established over the years, by all players of the poker game, a standard order for winning hands.
These hands may be described in the following manner, in reverse order.
If there isn’t a single pair showing, in any player’s hand at the end of all betting, then the highest card in any Player's hand will win. This does not require the card, in itself, to be high card. If the highest card in any player’s hand is only a seven of clubs, that will be declared high card and the winer of the hand.Any two cards that are of the same numerical or face valfor instance 6 and 6, are considered one pair.The next highest ranking hand is two pairs.

The addition of a third card of the same value to the original pair increases that pair to three of a kind.The addition of a fourth card of the same face value takes the three of a kind and changes it to four of a kind. When a joker is used, the hand could conceivably be increased to five of a kind (in games that allow for this hand).A straight is nothing more than five consecutive cards, regardless of suit. A 4+, 5.?., 6+, 7, and 8.?., are considerd straight. An ace can be used in two ways in straights: at thebeginning as A, 2, 3, 4, 5, and also at the end as 10, J, 0, K,
A. Depending on how it is used, the ace is either high or low. A flush is a group of any five cards of the same suit, regardless of face value. Therefore, a 2, 4, 7, 8, K of diamonds is a flush. It would follow that whenever the player has five consecutive cards and those cards are all in the same suit, he would be holding a straight flush. The highest straight flush that can be dealt is 10, J, Q, K, A of the same suit. That is known as a royal flush.

Playing Strategies

The royal flush is generally the best hand that can appear on a table and usually wins over all other hands. Not so in California card clubs where it is possible, with the addition of a joker, to be dealt five aces and that hand will be declared the winner
The full house is a combination of a pair and three of a kind. It is not uncommon for two full house hands to be dealt in one game, and it has been established that the higher-valued three of a kind takes precedence over the lower-valued three of a kind and will be the winner regardless of the value of the single pair in either hand Poker - Video Poker Percentages.
When standard games of Poker are played the highest hand is always the winner. There are, however, Poker Video games where the reverse is true. The games of Hi-Lo and Lo-Ball consider the lowest hand to be the winner. (Always in Lo-Ball, and as a sharing hand with a high hand in Hi—Lo.) Only in Lo-Ball Poker is the lowest straight, A, 2, 3, 4, 5 valued not a straight, but as the “lowest possible hand” or winner. Lo-Ball poker can be played in five, six, or seven card games. All other games that consider low hands such as Hi-Lo, Hi-Lo five card Stud, etc., will look on A, 2, 3, 4, 6 as the “worst” hand and declare that hand as winner All games are played from a single deck of 52 cards which are divided into the thirteen cards in each of four suits. It is not uncommon for a joker to be added for a total of 53 cards. The cards are usually shuffled and mixed by the previous dealer and the deck is usually cut by the first player. The cards are dealt in a clockwise fashion, to the dealer’s left. Depending on the Poker game being played, five, six, or seven cards are dealt to players. The player may pass (not bet), call (bet an amount equal to the previous player’s bet), raise (increase the amount of his bet over the previous prayer’s bet), or fold (close his hands and withdraw.