Rules

Introduction

There are many variations on poker throughout the world. This manual will teach you a "traditional" version first, and then the "texas hold'em"; considered to be the most popular.

In a poker game, each player will receive cards to form a "hand", which is basically a set of 5 cards. They will be their tokens in the hope they have the best hand (or bluffing that they do). By the end of a game session the player with the most value in tokens wins.

The dealer

He is the one who deals the cards, and carries a token to show it. After every game, the dealer will give the token to the next player (going clockwise) to make him the new dealer.

Traditional Poker

In this version, each player receives 5 cards and a fair share of the betting tokens. You have to decide on how much is the starting bet (we recommend #2). The player to the left of the dealer is the "small blind", which means he'll have to bet half of the starting bet. The next player (always going clockwise) will be the "big blind", and must bet the full price. Bets then proceed normally.

In his turn, each player will have to make a choice. He may either match the current bet or fold, leaving this game and the money already bet. If the matches, he may then raise the bet, forcing the other players to either match it or fold.

After folding, matching or raising, a player's turn is up and is time for the one to his left. A round of bets ends when all remaining players (those who have not folded) match the current bet, without raising it (the last player who raised the bets get no chance to raise again, unless other player raises it first).

When the betting round is over, each player may return up to five cards (without revealing them) and receive the same number of new cards.

The second round of bets begins with the player left to the dealer. It is now unnecessary to pay the initial bet, and bets can go as low as #0. Then goes on normally until all remaining players have matched the current bet.

If all players but one fold, the one who stays gets all tokens bet, and does not have to reveal his cards.

If more than a player stayed, it is now time to show the cards. The player with the most valuable hand wins the game and gets all the tokens bet. If a draw does occur, the winning players share all the tokens, leaving any remainder to the next game.

In every session of poker many games are played, and the winner is the player who ends up with the most value in token.

Texas hold'em

In this version of the game, the dealer must place five cards in the center of the table, facing down, and give only two cards to each player. By the end of the game, all of them will have been revealed, so the players can use them to complete their hands. That is, each player will have to choose five out of the seven cards to make up his hand. Multiple players can use the same cards placed at the table.

By the end of the first round of bets, instead of the players exchanging their cards, the dealer will reveal three of the five cards on the table (we call it the "flop").

By the end of the second round of bets, one more card is revealed (the "turn"). By the end of the third round, the last card is revealed (the "river"). Then there is one last round of bets.

Hands of Poker

Every hand in poker consists of five cards, that can combine into a total of 10 possible plays, listed below. You win a game when you get the best hand.

Draw games

In case you got a draw game, the players must compare one more card to see who tops the others (we call it the "kicker"). For example, if two players have the same pairs, they compare their highest card. If it is again a draw, they compare the next one and so on. A game only truly draws if both players have exactly the same hand.

Hands

hand	description
High card	In poker the cards' value, from lower to higher is: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Q, K and Ace, independent of suit.
Pair	The same number, independent of suit. Any pair will trump a high card (for example, a pair of 3 trumps an Ace), but the hierarchy of the cards still applies to the pairs (and so, a pair of aces still beats a pair of 3).
Two pairs	Any two pairs beat any single pair. For example, the hand [2,2,3,3,4] beats [A,A,K,Q,J]. When multiple players have two pairs, you must compare the highest pair to determine who's the winner. In case of a draw, compare the lowest pair.
Three of a kind	Any three of a kind is worth more than any two pairs, so [2,2,2,3,4] beats [A,A,K,K,Q].
Straight	It is a sequence of five cards, independent of suit. So [2,3,4,5,6] beats [A,A,A,K,Q]. Note that the ace can be used in a sequence before 2 and after K, but it can't connect them, so [Q,K,A,2,3] is not a sequence.
Flush	It happens when all the cards share the same suit, independent of its value. In case of a draw, you must compare the highest card within the flush.
Full house	It happens when you draw a pair and a three of a kind, independent of suit. So, a [2,2,2,3,3] is a full house. When comparing two full houses, the winner is the one with the highest three of a kind.
Four of a kind	It happens when you have four cards with the same value, one of each suit.
Straight flush	It happens when you have a sequence of cards, all of the same suit.
Royal flush	Is the rarest hand in poker. It is a straight flush ending in ace.