‘Poker’ is a game loved and played dearly by many people around the world. No new technology, no new video game or new gadget has been able to take this game’s place. There are definitely different ways to play the famous poker. But, before you go and play it, you must know the basic rules which always apply in every Poker game. Let us have a look at these basics and rules herein.

Usually, the poker players play for ‘money’ but this is not for free. They all have to contribute also. In other terms, we can say that they have to invest first to play it. This means they have to contribute to the pot which contains the poker chips. Each chip has its own assigned money value.

The game starts when cards are distributed to each and every player. The distributed cards make up the ‘hand’ and mostly, the cards are only visible to the player who receives them.

When the players receive cards, they have to bet. The bets depend on how good their hand is. This stage is called ‘the betting round’. A deck has total 52 cards. There are precisely four suits and 13 ranks in a deck. These suits are hearts, diamonds, spades and club. Moreover, the 13 ranks are ace, being the highest card, while two (also called as deuce) is the lowest.

A ‘hand is made up of five cards and can fall within any category, for an instance, flush, straight or two pair. A poker game has to be played by at least two players. The king, the queen and the jack are picture cards. They are also called as the face cards. Making a wager or in simple words, putting a bet is imperative after the cards are distributed. This means to continue playing, you have to pay. As more cards are given, the players have the option of betting more money after a round of cards. The standard poker rules dictate that a player plays only for himself, which means he really cannot partner up with someone else.

It goes without saying that each player’s goal is to win the money collected in the pot. There are two ways of achieving the same. You can either have the highest ranking hand during showdown, or you can be the last player. This means you should be still playing after everyone else has backed out. If this happens, then there is really no need for a showdown, as you are automatically the winner.