Object of the Game
The goal of each player is to win the pot, which contains all the
bets that the ⚾️ players have made in any one deal. A player makes a bet in hopes that
they have the best pot, ⚾️ which to give the impression that they do. In most Poker
versions, the top combination of five cards is the ⚾️ best hand.
The Deal
Each player
receives two cards face down and then one card face up, dealt one at a time ⚾️ in
rotation.
The Play
After the initial deal, there is a betting interval. Each active
player receives three more face up cards ⚾️ and one more face down card, with a betting
interval after each round of cards dealt. In the showdown, each ⚾️ player turns up all of
their hole cards and selects five of their seven cards as their hand. The player ⚾️ must
separate these cards from the other two, which they discard. The player cannot reclaim
their discards upon finding that ⚾️ a better five-card combination could have been
made.
Poker Hand
Five of a Kind - This is the highest possible hand and ⚾️ can occur only
where at least one card is wild, such as a Joker. Examples of five of a kind ⚾️ would be
four 10s and a wild card or two Queens and three wild cards.
Straight Flush - This is
the ⚾️ highest possible hand when only the standard pack is used, and there are no wild
cards. A straight flush consists ⚾️ of five cards of the same suit in sequence, such as
10, 9, 8, 7, 6 of hearts.
Four of a ⚾️ Kind - This is the next highest hand. An example is
four aces or four 3s.
Full House - This colorful ⚾️ hand is made up of three cards of one
rank and two cards of another rank, such as three 8s ⚾️ and two 4s.
Flush - Five cards all
of the same suit, but not all in sequence, is a flush. An ⚾️ example is Q, 10, 7, 6, and 2
of clubs.
Straight - Five cards in sequence, but not all of the ⚾️ same suit is a
straight. An example is 9♥, 8♣, 7♠, 6♦, 5♥.
Three of a Kind - This combination contains
⚾️ three cards of the same rank, and the other two cards each of a different rank, such as
three Jacks, ⚾️ a seven, and a four.
Two Pairs - This hand contains a pair of one rank and
another pair of a ⚾️ different rank, plus any fifth card of a different rank, such as Q,
Q, 7, 7, 4.
One Pair - This ⚾️ frequent combination contains just one pair with the other
three cards being of different rank. An example is 10, 10, ⚾️ K, 4, 3.
No Pair - This very
common hand contains "nothing." None of the five cards pair up, nor are ⚾️ all five cards
of the same suit or consecutive in rank. When more than one player has no pair, the
⚾️ hands are rated by the highest card each hand contains, so that an ace-high hand beats
a king-high hand, and ⚾️ so on.
