Poker Basics: How to Play Five-Card Poker

Of all card games, poker has the most variants. The Five-Card variant is one of the easiest for a beginner to learn. This article looks at the basic rules of poker and how the Five-Card variant in particular is played.

POKER VALUES

The objective of any poker game is to get the best hand of all. Winning poker hands are when the cards that you hold form a series or combinations that are considered better than those of your opponent(s)'s hand(s).

In poker, the cards take on their usual values, with 2 being the lowest and the King being the highest except for the Ace. An Ace takes on its higher value (as in Blackjack) but can take on its lower value in a Straight Hand.

POKER HANDS

From the highest to the lowest, here are the poker hands for Five-Card Poker (and other poker variants):

Royal Flush: A, K, Q, J and 10 of the same suit. Straight Flush: Cards in consecutive order of the same suit. Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same type, e.g. four Aces. Full House: A pair and a trio, that is, two cards of the same kind and three cards of the same kind (e.g. two J and three 4). Flush: Cards of the same suit, not in order. Straight: Cards in a sequence, of different suits. Three of a Kind: Three of the five cards are the same kind (e.g. three 5) but the other two are not a pair. One Pair: Two of a kind, say two 10. High Card: This is when there are no matching cards in the hand. In such a case, the player with the highest card in their hand wins. If it's a tie, then they must go to the next highest ranking card and so on until somebody wins.

FIVE-CARD POKER

First step in Five-Card Poker, the players place their bets or ante in the pot.

Next, each player is dealt five cards.

Then the player to the dealer's left must either bet or pass. If they pass, the turn passes to the player on their left. They must also either bet or pass.

If every player passes, gather the cards. Make an ante once more. The player to the dealer's left must deal a new hand.

Then it is time for each succeeding player to either call the bet, raise or fold after one player opens a hand by betting.

After a player opens a hand by betting, each subsequent player must either call, raise or fold. To call means to match the bet, to raise means to match the bet and also increase it by adding more, and to fold mean to withdraw from the current round.

When all players have either placed a bet or folded, give every remaining player the choice to trade cards for an equal number from the top of the deck. This is to get a better hand.

Once every player has either exchanged their cards for new ones, or stayed with their hand, it is time to start another round of betting.

Those players who haven't folded must now show their hands after the betting round.

The player with the best hand of all then wins everything in the betting pot.

These are the rules of Five-Card Poker. As you can see, it is very simple to follow and easy to practice with at home. There are casino rules associated with it but as this is for practice and non-casino use, you need not be concerned with them. There are some good poker software around so try them to learn the game.