Poker Rules

Basic Poker Rules

Playing poker requires grit, intelligence and a fair amount of luck, however, those who think the game is simply a matter of knowing official basic poker rules so they can tell the difference between a royal flush and a straight or full house have much to learn. Mastering the game is no easy task. Learning card ranks and memorizing the structure of betting rounds may be simple, but it's just the beginning. Perfecting intricate strategies, however, has nothing in common with the term 'easy.' The pros are well aware of the fact that poker is a game of skill.

Just like any other skill, your poker strategy must be constantly sharpened. Additionally, people who play for a living, know that this game is very demanding in terms of knowledge. They constantly seek to improve their game via either online poker destinations or traditional poker rooms.

In this article, we will discuss basic official poker rules and hands, at the bottom you can find descriptions and pictures of various common poker hands. This includes "two pair," "three of a kind," "flushes," "straights," and of course the infamous "royal flush." The first thing you need to know about poker is that it can be played at home, at a brick and mortar casino venue or even at an online casino. We recommend that poker beginners start their poker career playing online simply because of the vast selection of virtual poker rooms that offer players the option of playing for free.

Remember that in traditional casinos, poker is all about money and when you are only in the first phase of getting familiar with game you can lose a lot of cash. In addition, online poker games are less stressing for beginners and you typically have more time to figure out moves.

Poker for beginners

Poker is a game in which players compete against each other or against the dealer, depending on the version of the game. Most of the basics we are going to cover here are official basic poker rules for all variations, whether the most popular or the rare ones. The main purpose is to make an unbeatable 'hand.' A hand is a combination of five cards of a certain rank and suit. The difference between a high card hand and three of a kind or a full house is the difference between money in your pocket, or leaving with empty ones.

First and foremost, you need to know that there are 52 cards in a deck with four suits: Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades. On top of a specific suit, each card also has a specific rank, from the Ace (the highest of all ranks) to the 2 (the lowest rank). Any hand in a higher category beats any other hand in a lower category (for example, any Straight Flush beats any Full House). If several players hold the same exact hand, they split the pot 50-50. Poker hands go as follows (from the strongest to the weakest):

	Royal Flush This is the strongest poker hand. Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10. All of the same suit.
	Straight Flush Any five-card sequence of the same suit.
	Four of a Kind All four cards of the same value.
	Full House Three of a kind together with a pair. If two or more players have a full house, a player with the highest ranking three-of-a-kind nabs the jackpot.
	Flush Any same suited five cards, but not in sequence.
	Straight Five cards in consecutive order. The cards can be of any suit.
	Three of a Kind Three cards with the same value.
	Two Pair Two different pairs. If two players have two pair, the hand with the highest pair collects the jackpot.
	Pair Two cards with the same value.
	High Card If a poker hand lacks any of the combinations mentioned above, it's valued by its strongest card.

The best poker players understand not only basic poker rules, but also implement poker strategies that take practice and patience. Each player is required to develop his own gaming strategy with the goal of beating his opponents and nabbing the first place prize. Sometimes this task is difficult and sometimes its rather easy, it all depends on who your opponents are and how good they are in poker. It is our educated advice that after you grasp how the card suits and the hand ranking system work, you go to our Poker Games section to learn how different poker games are played.