Poker norms and rules

Poker is world-famous card game that can be found in any casino; online or land based. You will come across a lot of variation in terms of poker. Some of these variations are common while some of them are really rare. Some of the common ones include

• Omaha,
• TexasHold’em,
• Seven Card Stud,
• five card draw
• Five card stud.

 

Some of the rarer variations include Guts, Crazy Pineapple, Pineapple Poker and several others. You can also find a few Razz games, lowball games and other mixed type of games similar to that of the most popular H.O.R.S.E.

Poker has a few fundamental rules and concepts that apply pretty much to every variation of poker despite a few other conceptual differences.

Hand Rankings in poker

Before you can get started with a game of poker, you must understand the ranking of cards within the game. In some kinds of poker, the lowest hand is entitled for the win. So ensure that you familiar with the specific rules and regulations for the variation of poker you are going for.

These are a variety of poker hand rankings in the descending order.

• ·         For a Royal Flush, you need in the same suit A,K,Q,J and 10 .
• ·         If it is going to be flush (Straight) any five cards that are consecutive will do. However it is important for them to be of the same symbol.
• ·         If you get four cards of identical numerical value, you are entitled to Four of  a Kind.
• ·         For the full house, you will require two sets of cards; one with two cards sharing the numerical value and another with three more cards of the similar numerical value. So you will need something like 4, 4, 4, K, K. .
• ·         For Two Pair, you need two sets of cards with the same numerical value but different from one another. E.g. 6, 6, 9, 9, X.
• ·         For an ordinary Pair, you will need just two cards with the same value. E.g. 2, 2, X, Y, Z

How do you play the game

Before you can begin the game of poker, all players are required to place the ante-bet. This refers to the initial bet placed by players. The number of cards given to each player in the game differs in each type of poker game. However, in every kind of game, the player makes his/her final hands with a combination of any five cards. Each player needs to make a set of five cards that will be compared and listed on the basis of hand ranking given above. In certain variations of poker, players get the freedom to use wild cards that can be assigned the value of any other card to make up the required combination. These cards must be decided on before the game starts.

 

Winning a game of poker

The player with the highest rank in terms of his/her hand is the winner. However, if none of the players have a hand that can be found on the ranked hands, the cards are then compared on the basis of the “high card.” The player with the highest number of these cards wins. Again, there is a possibility of two players having the same high card. In this situation, the next highest card is taken into consideration. This continues till a winner emerges.