Poker
Texas Hold’em, which is what people mean by poker now. Two cards each, five in the middle, best five wins.
Poker is a family of games. This is Texas Hold’em, the one that gets televised and the one meant when somebody says "poker" without qualifying it. Play for matchsticks and the rules work exactly the same.
Goal
Win the pot, either by holding the best five-card hand at the end or by betting enough that everyone else folds. Those are equally legitimate ways to win, which is the whole game.
The blinds
Two players are forced to bet before any cards are dealt, so there is always something worth playing for. The player to the dealer’s left posts the small blind, the next posts the big blind, usually double it.
The dealer position moves one seat clockwise after each hand, so the blinds pass round the table evenly.
How a hand goes
- Everyone gets two cards face down. A round of betting starts left of the big blind.
- The flop: three community cards face up in the middle. Another round of betting.
- The turn: a fourth community card. Another round.
- The river: a fifth and final community card. A last round.
- The showdown: everyone still in shows their cards and the best five-card hand wins.
You make your hand from any five of the seven cards available to you: your two and the five in the middle. You may use both, one, or neither.
What you can do on your turn
- Check — bet nothing. Only possible if nobody has bet before you this round.
- Bet or raise — put chips in, and everyone must match to stay in.
- Call — match the current bet.
- Fold — give up the hand and whatever you have already put in.
- All in — bet everything you have. You can only win what you could match from each player, no more.
What beats what
Strongest first. Ties are broken by the highest card in the hand, then the next, and so on.
- Royal flush — 10 J Q K A, all one suit.
- Straight flush — five in a row, all one suit.
- Four of a kind.
- Full house — three of one rank, two of another.
- Flush — five of one suit, in any order.
- Straight — five in a row, mixed suits.
- Three of a kind.
- Two pair.
- One pair.
- High card — none of the above.
The ace plays high or low in a straight, so A 2 3 4 5 counts, as the lowest straight there is. A straight cannot turn the corner from King through Ace to Two.
The showdown
The last player to bet or raise shows first. If nobody bet on the river, the player left of the dealer shows first.
A hand is exactly five cards. If two players have the same five, the pot is split. That happens more often than beginners expect: when the best five cards are all on the table, everyone still in has them.
Playing at home
Fix the blinds before you start and do not change them mid-game. Give everyone the same starting stack. If you are not playing for money, matchsticks are fine: the game needs something to lose, not something valuable.
Agree in advance whether a player who runs out is finished or may buy in once more. Deciding that after somebody has already busted never goes well.
Questions
Does a flush beat a straight?
Yes. A flush is five cards of one suit and beats a straight, which is five in a row of mixed suits. Only a full house or better beats a flush.
Can I use just one of my two cards?
Yes, or neither. Your hand is the best five out of the seven available. If the five in the middle beat both your cards, that is your hand, and everyone else has it too.
What happens if two people have the same hand?
They split the pot. A hand is exactly five cards, so a sixth or seventh card never breaks the tie.
Is A 2 3 4 5 a straight?
Yes, and it is the lowest one, with the ace playing low. It cannot wrap around, so Q K A 2 3 is nothing at all.