The Basics of Poker

Poker

The objective of poker is to obtain the best hand in the game. In order to do this, players make bets until they drop out. The player with the highest hand wins the pot, which is a sum of money that is shared amongst all other players. If the players cannot come to an agreement, they will lose their money and must fold. However, the house rules generally allow players to double their bets after the first three or four raises.

There are many variations of poker. Three-Card Monte, Spit-in-the-Ocean, and many others are based on less than five cards. All variations of Poker will be discussed later in this chapter. For groups of more than ten players, two separate games may be organized. This is the most common game of Poker. The first variant of the game is known as stud poker. The second version of the game is known as community card poker.

The highest poker hand is called a “straight.” It is a set of five cards of the same rank that contain the same suit. The high card in the set can be either high or low. In this variation, two of a kind can occur. The higher card in the hand wins the pot. When a hand is not a pair, it is called a “no pair.”