The Basics of Poker

Generally, a poker hand contains two distinct pairs of cards plus a fifth card. If two players have two pairs of identical cards, the winner is the player with the highest ranking of the five cards.

A flush is all cards of the same suit. A straight is five cards in a sequential order. A king, ace, deuce, queen and jack are considered a royal flush.

A high card breaks a tie when several people have a high card, but no one has a pair. A four of a kind is four cards of the same rank. If two players have four of a kind, the higher ranked hand wins.

A kitty is a special fund for Poker players. Typically, a blue chip is worth two, four, or five reds, while a red chip is worth 10 or 25 whites. The kitty is also used to pay for new decks of cards.

Poker has several betting rounds. Each round starts with a “bet” of a single or several chips. This bet is then placed into the pot. As the round progresses, the betting increases. The end result is a larger pot.

The ante is the buy-in to a game of Poker. It is a small bet, usually between $1 and $5. The ante is decided by the table. In fixed-limit games, the ante is fixed, whereas in a no-limit game the ante can be raised.

A sandbagging is a type of forced bet. If a player wishes to remain in the game, he or she checks without betting. When the opponent’s bet is accepted, the player must match that bet, or raise the ante.