Knowing the winning
hand in poker is certainly useful, but surely the
actual
gameplay is worth covering as well? Here is the
basic
sequence of play for
Five Card Draw, the "standard" game of poker.
- All players place the ante (the minimum bet
needed to participate) in the pot (a pool of money) and are dealt
five cards face down.
- Players pick up cards and examine them. The first betting round begins.
- The player to the left of the dealer plays first. His choices are to:
- check, do nothing and pass
- bet, raise the bet by placing an additional amount in
the pot
Play continues
clockwise.
If no bet has yet been placed (ie. everybody so far has checked),
players continue to choose between checking and betting.
If a bet has been placed, the player's options are to:
- call, place the bet in the pot and continue play
- raise, place the bet and an additional amount in the pot;
play continues with the new increased bet
- fold, stop playing, forfeit the hand and the pot
(Note: a folded hand does not have to be shown to others)
Play continues until a full round has passed without a new bet or
raise (ie. the person who made the last bet/raise cannot raise himself).
Players discard 0-5 cards at their discretion and draw
(take) new ones to replace them.
A second round of betting begins, starting from the player to the
left of the first bettor.
If all players except one fold, the player who doesn't is the winner.
Otherwise, the remaining players show their hands, and
highest hand
wins.
Winner takes the pot. If there is no designated dealer, the
player to the left of the dealer is the new dealer.
These are
skeletal rules, usable for playing at
home but not at the
casino -- not that most casinos do Five Card Draw anyway. The
industrial-strength rules
for
minimum/
maximum antes,
blinds,
bets and
raises, in
particular, are complex and varied.
See the
rec.gambling.poker FAQ for much more detail and
references, and
Nekojin's
poker terms for more terminology.