Basic Poker Rules

Poker uses a standard pack of playing cards, fifty-two cards (there are some poker games that use more or less depending on the variations such as adding wild cards like jokers). The card ranking is as follows Ace (the highest), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (the lowest), Ace (this may also be the last card depending on the variations you are using, but it is usually the highest).

There are four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs). No suit is greater than another. All poker hands include five cards. The highest hand wins.

The use of Wild Cards depends on the variations, wild cards take on whatever rank or suit you want it to take. A wild card can either be a separate card added like a joker or you may specify a certain card in the standard deck to be wild (such as deuces wild).

The number of cards dealt depends on what type of game you are playing: in five-card stud, you are dealt five cards; in seven-card stud, you are dealt seven. I know this is obvious, but I don't want anyone to get confused. Five-card draw is the standard poker game where five cards are dealt to each player face down.

Poker rules of Betting Procedures - In most poker games you begin the betting with an ante just to get the cards dealt. The money is put in the center of the table and is called the "pot".

When the wagering gets to you (betting is handled in a clockwise order), you have three choices:

Call - betting enough to match what has been bet since the last time you bet in that particular wagering round. An example would be if you bet fifty cents and somebody then bid $1.00, you would owe another fifty cents. If you choose to Call then you would put the amount that you owed into the pot and you would stay in the hand.

Raise - when you raise you first put enough in the pot to match what has already been bet and then you raise the pot by putting an additional amount in (the limit on how much you can raise depends on the game). So let's say the initial bet was twenty-five cents, you could say you're raising by twenty-five cents and you would then have to put a total of fifty cents in. Now the other players will Call, Raise, or fold.

Fold - dropping out of the current hand and losing the possibility of winning the pot. You don't have to put cash in and you would only lose the ante, if it's on the first turn, or whatever you put in the pot later. Occasionally it's better to get out than to waste money on bad cards. Each poker game has a predetermined number of betting rounds. The highest hand at the end of all wagering rounds wins the pot.

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Basic Poker Rules

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