Poker Rules

Hand Rankings (strongest to weakest)

1. Royal Flush — A-K-Q-J-10, all the same suit.
2. Straight Flush — Five consecutive cards, same suit.
3. Four of a Kind — Four cards of the same rank.
4. Full House — Three of a kind + a pair.
5. Flush — Five cards of the same suit, not in sequence.
6. Straight — Five consecutive cards, mixed suits.
7. Three of a Kind — Three cards of the same rank.
8. Two Pair — Two different pairs.
9. One Pair — Two cards of the same rank.
10. High Card — Highest single card.

Betting Rounds

• Preflop — Two hole cards dealt. Action starts left of the big blind.
• Flop — Three community cards. Action starts left of the button.
• Turn — Fourth community card, another betting round.
• River — Fifth community card, final betting round.

Available Actions

• Fold — discard your hand and forfeit the pot.
• Check — pass action when no bet is in front of you.
• Call — match the current bet.
• Bet / Raise — put chips in; minimum raise = the size of the previous bet or raise.
• All-in — commit your entire stack.

Showdown

If two or more players remain after the river, hands are revealed. The best 5-card hand wins the pot. If two players tie, the pot is split. In Hold'em, you can play any combination of hole cards and community cards, including 0 hole cards ("play the board").

Common Gotchas

• Ace can be low (A-2-3-4-5) or high (10-J-Q-K-A) but not both in one straight.
• A flush is compared by highest card first, then second-highest, and so on.
• The kicker matters: A-K beats A-Q with the same pair of aces.
• String bets (announcing "call" then "raise") are treated as a call — always announce your action first.