The Basics
Poker originates out of the old Wild West saloons and probably has the greatest number of variants. It is different from a Casino in that the players are playing against other players and not the dealer as in Blackjack or Baccarat for example. Poker is also a far more complex game with all the psychology involved not least surrounding the art of bluffing.

Poker is played with a regular deck of 52 cards. There are some variant poker games which use multiple decks and/or add Jokers or Wild Cards.

The cards are ranked as follows from highest to lowest; Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. As seen the Ace can be counted as either high or low. In the standard deck there are four suits; spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs, but none of the suits has a higher value than the others.

In a standard game each player is dealt five cards which are referred to as a hand. The highest hand, as indicated below wins. In some games you also find Wild Cards or Jokers, which the player can label as whatever number in whatever suit best fits his hand.

The Ranking of Poker Hands
This is the ranking of poker hands from the highest to the lowest:

1. Five of a Kind (with a Wild card or Joker)
2. Royal Flush
3. Straight Flush
4. Four of a Kind
5. Full House
6. Flush
7. Straight
8. Three of a Kind
9. Two Pair
10. Pair
11. High Card

Five of a Kind This is an unusual hand and is only possible when playing a version of Poker using wild cards. It is however the highest achievable hand. If in the unlikely event that more than one hand gets five-of-a-kind, the higher ranking hand wins; e.g. five Aces beat five kings, which beat five queens, and if you get a tie then you know something very funny is going on !!

Straight Flush Is the best natural hand i.e. in a normal game without wildcards. A straight flush is made up of five cards in numerical sequence and also of the same card suit e.g. hearts. An Ace high straight-flush, which is Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, is referred to as a Royal Straight Flush or Royal Flush and is the absolute highest natural hand possible.

Four of a Kind This hand contains all four natural cards of the same rank. If two hands should occur at the same time then the highest ranking hand wins i.e. four Kings beats four Queens. If there are a lot of wild cards, as you sometimes get in certain Poker variants, then it's possible to get two identical four-of-a-kind hands. If this occurs then it is the hand with the highest ranked fifth card which wins. This rule applies to most hands which tie, such as a pair or two pairs. If even after applying this rule the hands are equal then the pot gets split between those players.

Full House Is a hand which contains both a pair and a three-of-a-kind. Again, especially where Wild Cards are in play, ties can occur and are solved by first comparing the three-of-a-kind ranking then the pair ranking.

Flush This is a hand where all the cards are of the same suit e.g. spades.

Straight In this hand you have 5 cards in sequence, such as 5-6-7-8-9. An Ace can be considered as either high or low so both of the following count as a straight, (A-K-Q-J-10) or low (A-2-3-4-5).

Three of a Kind As the name suggests in this hand you have three cards of the same rank.

Two Pair Is a hand that contains two pairs.

Pair This is effectively 2 of a kind or a hand where you have at least 2 cards of the same rank.

High Card Although unusual it can happen that you end up in a situation where nobody has any of the above card combinations. In that case it is the player with the highest ranked card who wins. If more than one player has the same highest ranked card, then the second highest card is considered, followed by the third and so on.

Playing Poker
In the vast majority of Poker games a player has to 'ante' or bet a nominal amount just to have the cards dealt to him. After the cards have been dealt, then the proper betting is started. The bets are placed in a 'pot' in the middle of the table Players bet into the pot in the middle of the table and goes round the table clockwise.

The player, who has the highest ranked card showing, is the first to bet. He has the option of either betting or checking. If he 'Checks', it is the same as passing, he effectively declines to bet and instead passing the option of betting to the player to his left. If all the players check, then that is the end of the round and everyone turns over their cards to see who has won.

The above scenario is rare though, in most cases at least one player will bet. The next player then has the option to either 'Call', 'Raise' or 'Fold'. If a player folds then the player throws the hand away and drops out of the round, any money already betted stays in the pot. If the player calls then the player has to match the previous bet. The more aggressive move is to raise where the player matches the current bet but also puts in an additional bet which the original player(s) will then have to call to stay in the round.

A simple example is as follows: All the players ante up a $5 bet. After the hands are dealt the first player bets $10. When your turn comes again you need to add an extra $10 difference into the pot to stay in the game, this is calling, and if you choose you can raise the bet or even say 'Pot'. Pot means that you raise to the total amount which is currently in the pot and can be a good tactic to unnerve other players, however it can be a very expensive gamble !!

If that is the end of the betting and other players have either matched your bet, 'called' or dropped out 'folded' then everyone turns over their remaining cards and the highest hand, hopefully you, wins the entire pot.

Variations:

As mentioned earlier there are a lot of variations on the basic poker game described above and I will try to list a few of the most significant below.

- Seven card stud poker:

Game summary

This is perhaps the most common and popular of all the games found in public card rooms. In this poker variation, each player is dealt seven cards of their own: two of the cards 'in the hole' with one facing up, followed by an opening round of betting. Next three more cards are dealt face up, with a betting round after each card is dealt, and finally the seventh card is dealt in the hole i.e. face down with a final round of betting. (CC) C bet; C (bet); C (bet); C (bet); (C) bet. The player creates his best hand out of the seven cards dealt him and the use of the blind cards creates a lot more tension as players try to guess what kind of hand the others players might have. As before the highest hand wins the entire pot.

- Caribbean Stud Poker

Game summary

This is a casino table game based around the standard 5-card stud poker game and it is played on a Blackjack-type table. Certain casinos also offer an additional progressive jackpot paid out to high ranking hands. In accordance with most poker games this table game is played with only one deck of cards.

As opposed to regular poker the player here competes directly against the dealer's hand. Each player takes it in turns to make the opening bet called an 'ante'. Players also have the option to place a $1.00 bet in order to participate in the progressive jackpot. Players only win all or part of the progressive jackpot when their hand is a Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House or a Flush.

After the players have bet their 'ante' the dealer deals five cards face down to each of the players, including himself apart from the dealer's fifth card, which is dealt face up. After the player(s) examine the cards, the player has to decide between the following two options:

Either place a bet twice the amount of the original ante bet on the 'play' to continue the round, or,
Fold and withdraw from that round thereby forfeiting his ante bet.
After all the players have made this decision, the dealer turns over the final card. The dealer's hand has to have at least an Ace-King or better to be able to challenge the other player’s hands, if not then the dealer folds and only the 'ante' wagers are paid out, at 1:1 irrespective of ranking. The 'play' bet is also pushed/returned to the player.

If however the dealer's hand does qualify with an Ace-King or better, then the player’s cards are all opened and compared with the dealer's. If the dealer's hand is stronger than the player's hand, then the player loses both of the bets, 'ante' and 'play'.

If the player's hand is the stronger, then the dealer pays out for both of wagers; the 'ante' and the 'play'. For the 'ante' the payoff is always at a fixed 1:1 irrespective of the player’s hand. For the 'play' wager though the payoffs differ depending on the rank of the hand.

Each casino can have a slightly different payoff but in general they are as follows: