Poker is a game that is played with a pack of 52 playing cards, and these cards are all ranked with ace having the highest value and then the ranks decrease from King, Queen, and Jack, and then moving on to the numbers from ten down to two. Although no particular value is given to any of the suits in the pack of cards, the suit of the cards will in part determine whether you have a good or a bad poker hand – for instance, having cards that are all the same suit could make a huge difference to your hand.

In some variations of this game, you may also have a wild card, which could be the joker in the pack or another nominated card depending on the game or variation. The number of cards that you are dealt in the poker game will depend on the variation of poker that you are playing, as there are a number of popular poker variations played today, which include Seven Card Stud, Five Card Stud, and Texas Hold ‘Em.

Five card draw is probably the simplest variation, and one in which novices can practice their poker skill and learn more about the card rankings and hands. The player is dealt five cards with this game, and the aim is to have the highest value hand by the end of the game. The value of the hands are ranked as follows:

The Royal Flush is the highest hand, and this is where the cards are a ten, jack, queen, king, and ace, and all five cards are of the same suit. Next comes the Straight Flush, where all five cards are in numerical order and are of the same suit. Four of a Kind is the next hand, and this is where you have four cards of the same number or rank (e.g. four nines or four Jacks), with the fifth card being random. The next highest is the full house, and this is where you have three cards of the same rank or value and another two cards that are of another matching rank or value (for instance three tens and two fives).

After this comes the Flush, and this is where you have five cards that are all of the same suit. The Straight is the next rank, and this is where you have five cards that are in numerical order but not of the same suit. Following this is Three of a Kind, where you have three cards of the same value or rank, and then two random cards. The Two Pair comes next, and this is a hand where you have two sets of matching cards and one random card (for instance, two tens, two, fives, and a fifth random card). After this comes the One Pair, where you have one pair of cards that match in rank or value with three random cards. And finally comes the High Card, and this is where the holder of the highest value card wins in the event that nobody else has a higher hand.

Recommended Online Poker sites for new players:

More recommended Poker Guides:

Introduction to Online Poker
Poker Tips
Texas Hold'em Guide
Texas Hold'em Strategies
Omaha Guide
Omaha Strategies
Omaha High/Low Guide
Omaha High/Low Strategies
Draw Poker Guide
Lowball Poker Guide
Poker Hand Rankings explained