Components

Poker is played from a standard pack of 52 cards. The cards are ranked (from high to low) Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. (Ace can be high or low, but is usually high).

There are four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs), but no suit is higher than another.

All poker hands contain five cards, the highest hand wins.

Hands are ranked as follows: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, Pair, Highest Card.

Betting

Poker is gambling game. After that players bet into the pot in the middle, at the end, the highest hand (that hasn't folded) wins the pot.

Basically, when betting gets around to you (betting is done in clockwise order), you choose to do some actions:

• Call

  When you call, you bet enough to match what has been bet since the last time you bet (for instance, if you bet a dime last time, and someone else bet a quarter, you would owe fifteen cents).

  If there has been a bet on the current round of poker play, a player may call.

  The act of calling requires the player to match the current bet made by his or her opponent(s).

• Raise

  When you raise, you first bet enough to match what has been bet since the last time you bet, then you "raise" the bet another amount (up to you, but there is typically a limit).

  If there has been a bet on the current betting round, a player may raise.

  The act of raising requires the poker player to match the current bet, and then make a greater one.

  All subsequent players are required to call the raise or raise again ("re-raise") to maintain interest in the pot.

• Fold

  When you fold, you drop out of the current hand. In other words, you give up the current hand because you don't think you can win.

  A player who folds is not required to wager any further money during the current poker hand, but cannot win the pot either.

• Bet

  If there is not yet a wager on the current betting round a player may bet.

  If a player bets, the player immediately clockwise from him or her (and any subsequent players) may fold, raise or call.

• Check

  If there is no wager on the current betting round a player may check. The act of checking passes the action to the next person, immediately clockwise from the player.

  A check does not forfeit interest in the pot, only the current right to bet. If all active players check during a round of betting, the round is considered complete.

Betting continues until everyone calls or folds after a raise or initial bet. On each betting round, betting continues until every player has either matched the bets made or folded. If no bets are made, the round is complete when every player has checked. When the betting round is completed, the next dealing/betting round begins or the hand is complete.

If the last bet or raise on the final betting round is called, a "showdown" occurs. This is when it is determined who wins the pot, as players show their hands one-by-one.

It may be the case that there is no showdown. This occurs when a player bets or raises and no active players choose to call the player's bet. In other words, all players fold.

In this case, the player doing the betting or raising wins the full amount of the pot.

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