Usually poker hands contain five playing cards and the highest hand wins. But some enjoy playing cards that involve variants of between two to nine cards. Some poker games have Wild Playing Cards, which can take on whatever suit and rank their possessor desires. According to what you or other playing card opponents decide either jokers or other playing cards are used as wild playing cards. Sometimes the rules of the game specify wild playing cards and they are used.
Rankings of your hand are determined according to the following (from high to low):
- Five of a Kind: (only if you are using wild playing cards) - the highest possible hand. If more than one hand has five of a kind, the higher card wins (Five Aces beats five kings, which beat five queens, and so on).
- Royal Flush: the highest natural hand. A straight flush with an Ace as the high card.
- Straight Flush: the best natural hand. This is a straight all of the same suit.
- Four of a Kind: four playing cards of the same rank. If there are two or more hands that qualify, the hand with the higher-rank four of a kind wins.
- Full House: three of a kind and a pair. The stronger three of a kind breaks a tie.
- Flush: all playing cards are of the same suit. When flushes ties, the highest card decides the winner.
- Straight: 5 playing cards in order. You can use the ace as high or low (above the king or below the two). But you cannot wrap a straight around a two, ace, king, queen and jack.
- Three of a Kind: three playing cards of the same rank. Like in other instances, if there's a tie (because of a wild card) the highest card decides the winner.
- Two Pair: two distinct pairs of card. The highest pair wins ties. If both hands have the same high pair, the second pair wins. If both hands have the same pairs, the high card wins.
- Pair: two playing cards of the same rank. The highest card breaks ties.
- High Card: This is any hand which doesn't qualify as any one of the above hands. If nobody has a pair or better, then the highest card wins. If multiple people tie for the highest card, they look at the second highest, then the third highest etc. High playing cards are also used to break ties when the high hands both have the same type of hand (pair, flush, straight, etc).
Poker Betting
In most poker games, you must place a minimum amount in the pot to get playing cards. This is called an ante. After doing that players bet into the pot in the middle. At the end of the hand, the highest hand with the strongest sequence among the playing cards wins the pot. When betting at poker you can call, bet or fold.
- Call: you match what the last bet
- Raise: at first you match the last bet and then add to that amount.
- Fold: you decide that you want to drop out of this game and you leave. Any money you have already bet is lost.
At poker, betting continues until everyone calls or folds their playing cards after a raise or initial bet.