1. Overview 2. Suits 3. Ranks 4. Hands 5. Ties

Overview

Poker is played with a standard 52 card deck. Each player is dealt a hand of 5 cards and the aim of the game is to have the highest ranking hand at the end of the game.

Before the cards are dealt, every player places in the pot an initial stake of 5 credits, known as the ante. The dealer then distributes the cards. The game is begun by the member. The Member may either open the game by placing a bet in the pot or may stay or drop.

To stay means to declare one does not desire to bet at the moment but still desires to remain in the hand, pending betting by the other player.
To drop means to retire from the hand.

Each player in turn, proceeding one after another, may stay, bet, or drop. If all players stay, the ante is held and a new hand is dealt.
After the game is opened, a player who wishes to continue playing must call the bet of the opener, that is, bet an equal amount; or raise the opening bet or the bet of any preceding player, that is, bet a larger amount; a player may also reraise any previous raise but only twice in a row. When it is their turn again to play, the players who have stayed must either bet or drop out; no player may stay after a bet has been made.

When the betting has come to an end by the calling of the highest bet, the players may attempt to improve their hands by means of the draw or discard. This consists of discarding one or more cards and obtaining a like number. After the draw, a second round of betting takes place; it is begun by the player who opened the game, who may stay, bet or drop. Betting ends when a player calls the highest bet done by the other player, or when a player has dropped out. In the first case, a showdown follows, and the pot is won by the player holding the best hand. In the second case, the one player remaining wins, whatever the value of the hand, which need not be shown.

The 52 card deck is split into 4 different suits. The suits from the lowest to the highest ranked are: Clubs – Diamonds – Hearts – Spades. In case of hand rank ties the one who has the highest suit wins the game.

Clubs Diamonds Hearts Spades

1. Royal Flush – A K Q J 10 of the same suit The Royal Flush is the highest value hand possible and cannot be beaten. It contains all 5 'royal cards' (10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace) and all cards must be the same suit
2. Straight Flush – All consecutive cards of the same suit (including A 2 3 4 5) A Straight Flush is a hand with cards all of the same suit and running consecutively. The Ace can be used as a low card in order to achieve a Straight Flush e.g.. Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 all of the same suit. The highest Straight Flush is King - Queen - Jack - 10 - 9.
3. Four of a Kind or quads – 4 cards of the same rank The Four of a Kind, often called 'quads', contains 4 cards of the same rank, along with an unrelated fifth card. If 2 players holds Four of a Kind then the player with the highest ranked quad will win.
4. Full House or Full Boat – of one three of a kind and one pair A Full House (or Full Boat) contains 3 cards of the same rank along with 2 other cards of the same rank. In the event that 2 players hold a Full House the player with the highest ranked Three of a Kind will win The highest ranking Full House is: Ace - Ace - Ace and King - King.
5. Flush – All cards of the same suit A flush consists of any five cards, which are in the same suit. These cards do not have to be in a row to qualify as a flush, they only have to be of the same suit. If 2 players hold a Flush then the player with the highest ranked card will win. If both players’ highest ranked card are equal then the second highest card from each hand is used to determine the winner. This process continues with the 3rd, 4th and 5th card if necessary.
6. Straight – All consecutive cards of different suit A Straight is a hand that contains 5 consecutively ranked cards but not all of the same suit. The Ace can be used as a low card in order to achieve a straight e.g.. Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 or as a high card e.g.. 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace. The highest Straight is Ace - King - Queen - Jack - 10.
7. Three of a Kind or Trips – 3 cards of the same rank Three of a Kind contains 3 cards of the same rank along with 2 other unrelated cards. This hand is made by any three cards which are of the same rank but not of the same suit. Ace - Ace - Ace is the highest ranking set of trips.
8. Two Pairs – 2 sets of 2 cards each Two Pairs is a hand that contains 2 cards of the same rank and another 2 cards of the same rank (but different to the first) along with a fifth unrelated card. Ace - Ace - King - King is the highest two pair.
9. One Pair – 2 cards of the same rank A Pair is a hand that has 2 cards of the same rank along with 3 other unrelated cards. Ace - Ace is the highest single pair.

If no one has even a single pair the highest card held will be the winner. The highest card is the Ace. If more than one person has an ace you look at their second highest card, this keeps going down to the five cards held. Whoever has the highest card wins the game.

As a general rule, the differentiation in case of tie hand values is made by rank in the first place and by suit in the second.