Winning Hands

These are listed from lowest hand to highest hand

High Card – The highest card with 2 being the lowest and Ace being the highest.


Two of a Kind – Two of the same value card. Example:
3♣ – J♥ – J♣ – 2♦ – 5♠ is a pair of J’s.


Two Pairs – Two sets of two of the same value card. Example:
4♣ – 4♦ – 9♠ – 9♥ – A♣ is two pairs of 4′s and 9′s.


Three of a Kind – Three of the same value cards. Example:
6♥ – 6♦ – 6♣ – 3♥ – J♠ is three 6′s.

Straight – Cards running in order of any suit. Example:
5♠ – 6♠ – 7♦ – 8♠ – 9♥ is a straight.

Flush – 5 cards of all the same suit. Example:
5♠ – 7♠ – 9♠ – J♠ – Q♠ is a flush.

Full House – Three of a kind and a pair. Example:

7♥ – 7♠ – 7♣ – Q♦ – Q♥ is a full house.

Four of a Kind – 4 cards all with the same value. Example:

J♥ – J♠ – J♣ – J♦ – 5♥ is four of a kind

Straight Flush – Same as a straight, but all cards are of the same suit. Example:

3♦ – 4♦ – 5♦ – 6♦ – 7♦ is a straight flush.

Royal Flush – Same as a straight flush, but the cards are the ace, king, queen, jack and ten. Example:

10♠ – J♠ – Q♠ – K♠ – A♠

Tips

Fold often. After the dealer lays down the first three cards, if you have nothing, fold.

Again, for emphasis: FOLD OFTEN. If you’ve seen a poker game on TV, it seems like they’re playing every hand, but that’s the magic of television – they just don’t show the ‘boring’ hands where a majority of players fold immediately. Realistically, you should only be playing one hand in four or so. The more players in the game, the more conservatively you should play. Many players will fold immediately (without even seeing the flop) unless they have at least a pair or an ace – initially, that’s a pretty good strategy, until you’re more comfortable with the game.
In limit poker, there can only be one bet and three raises during each round of betting. If a player puts in $5, you can raise the bet by putting in $10. Another player (or the original bettor) could then raise the action to $15 if they desired. Finally, yet another player (or yourself) could raise the action to $20. At this point the betting would be “capped” and no more raises would be possible until the next round of betting begins.

In no-limit poker, there can be restrictions on the number of raises possible during each round of betting. Many poker rooms have differing rules on this.

Get some nice poker chips online. Go to your favourite search engine and search for “poker chips” to find online retailers. They feel a lot better than thin plastic chips. Also, if you are playing for money its a good idea so that players cannot slip in some chips they brought from home.

If you are playing online and want to improve your results then get a poker calculator to help quickly work out your odds. There are many available, just search the web with your favorite search engine.

Warnings

Keep your gambling to a minimum. Don’t put actual money on the cards unless you are sure that you do not have or will not develop a gambling problem.

Things You’ll Need

2 – 10 players.
One 52 card standard deck of cards.
Poker chips, usually 1′s, 5′s, 25′s, and 100′s.