Poker Rules: a simple beginner’s guide

Poker is one of the most famous card games in the world. There are many variations, but the basic principle is always the same: create the best hand possible or convince your opponents to fold.

Required materials

To play poker you need:

• a standard 52-card deck
• poker chips or score markers
• from 2 to 10 players

5

Goal of the game

The objective is to win the pot:

• by showing the best hand
  or
• by making the other players fold.

Hand rankings

From strongest to weakest:

1. Royal Flush
2. Straight Flush
3. Four of a Kind
4. Full House
5. Flush
6. Straight
7. Three of a Kind
8. Two Pair
9. One Pair
10. High Card

How a hand works

Each player receives 5 face-down cards.

On each turn players may:

• check
• bet
• raise
• fold

In some poker variants it is possible to exchange one or more cards.

At the end, players compare their hands.

Practical example

Mark has:

• 10♠ J♠ Q♠ K♠ A♠

He has a Royal Flush, the strongest poker hand.

Luke instead has:

• 8♥ 8♣ 8♦ K♠ K♣

He has a Full House, but loses against the Royal Flush.

Fun fact

The word “bluff” refers to betting in a way that makes opponents believe you have a strong hand even when you do not.