- Basic Poker Rules Printable
- Basic Poker Rules For Kids 5 Card Printable
- Basic Poker Rules Printable
- Printable Basic Poker Rules For Beginners
- Basic Blackjack Rules Printable
Only starting out with poker in 2020? I remember when I started with poker, I found remembering the important parts of the game challenging. But your journey can become easier with this printable poker cheat sheet for beginners (I wish I had this when starting out!). Poker is always played with a standard 52-card deck. This comes with 4 suits - Hearts, Spades, Diamonds and Clubs - and cards are ranked from 1 (Ace) to King (13 cards in each suit). Texas Hold'em Rules. In Texas hold'em each player is dealt two cards called their ‘hole' cards. Hole cards can only be seen and used by one person. The dealer button (denoted by a circular disc) is allocated before hands are dealt to allow for the positioning of the forced bets: small blind and big blind, and also to determine who will act first and last in the hand. (This isn't to say that there isn't skill at poker when nothing is at risk, there just isn't nearly as much). This is meant as a very basic primer into the rules of poker, for more information, get a book on the game (or start playing with a group of people who know how. It's more expensive than reading a book, but the group won't mind.
Trying to understand the rules of poker can be confusing, largely due to the many different variants of poker games and the confusingly similar but misleading information on the Internet.
Here we are going to simplify poker rules and explain to you the basic rules and how they vary across different formats of poker games.
Types of Poker Games
There are literally hundreds of variants of poker games, most of them are hardly played and the list can probably be cut down to less than 10 games that are regularly played today, the most common being Texas Holdem Poker.
Most poker games can be broken into 3 categories:
- Holdem Poker Games – these games share cards between players, so a number of common cards (called community cards) are dealt in the middle of the table which are available for all players to use as part of their hand.
- Stud Poker Games – some cards are dealt to players 'face up' which means all the other players can see them and others are dealt 'face down' which means only the player can see them. There are no shared or 'community' cards.
- Draw Poker – each player is dealt a number of cards which only they can see, then throughout the hand they have the opportunity to swap cards for new cards to try and make a winning hand.
Obviously there are different variants of poker games because they all have different rules so it is impossible to comprehensively cover everything in this article.
So….. below you will find the basic poker rules and concepts that apply to most poker games. Read and digest these and then, after you have decided which poker game you want to learn to play you can head over to our Poker Games & Rules section to get a more detailed guide for the game you have chosen.
The Basics …
- Poker games are played with a 'deck' of 52 cards.
- Each deck contains four 'suits' – hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds.
- Each suit contains 13 cards, the numbers 2 to 10 and then four 'picture cards' Jack, Queen, King and Ace.
- Poker card ranks are descending from the Ace, which is the highest to the King, Queen, Jack, then 10 on down to 2.
- The Ace, depending on the game, might be counted as the lowest or highest card.
Betting
Cards are dealt to each player depending on the rules of the individual game you are playing. After the cards are dealt there will be a series of betting rounds where each player in turn is given a choice of the following options.
- Check – you do not wish to bet any chips at the moment and you take the 'free' option – this is only an option if someone hasn't already placed a bet before your turn which removes the free option of checking.
- Bet – You make a bet by selecting an amount of money or 'chips' and clicking on bet if you are playing online poker or pushing them towards the middle of the table if you are playing live poker. The bet must be between the minimum and maximum limits in force which we'll discuss later. Once you have bet then other players must match that bet or they are eliminated from the hand.
- Call – If a player has already placed a bet and you wish to stay in the hand then you must match that bet, you are said to be 'calling the bet' or as you would announce 'I call'.
- Raise – If a player has already placed a bet then you have the option to place a bigger bet, this is called a 'Raise'.
- Fold – If a bet has been made and you don't want to match that bet then you 'fold' your hand. Folding your hand eliminates you from the hand.
Each betting round is complete when all players have either called the highest bet, or folded their hands leaving only one active player (the player who made the highest bet) – then the next cards are dealt and another betting round may start.
How Do I Win?
There are two ways to win a hand of Poker.
- You make a bet and everybody else folds their hand leaving you the only player left in the hand.
- You reach the end of all the betting rounds and you hold the strongest poker hand
For more information see our section on the poker hand rankings
How a Hand is made up?
In general there are two types of cards available to players:
- Hole Cards – these are cards which are dealt to an individual player – they are only available to use in the hand by the player they are dealt to.
- Community Cards – these are shared cards dealt in the middle of the table and are available for all players to use in their hands.
Depending on the rules of the individual game you are playing, Cards are either dealt 'face up' so everyone can see them or 'face down' so only the player who they have been dealt to can see them.
How a hand is made up will vary depending on which poker game you are playing, but to give you an idea lets look at an example from the most popular form of Poker – Texas Holdem Poker.
In Texas Holdem each player is dealt two 'Hole' cards – these cards are dealt face down and only the player knows what the cards are.
Here are the hole cards we have been dealt.
During the course of the hand a total of 5 community cards are dealt 'face up' for everyone to see in the middle of the table. These community cards are shared and available for all players to use in their hands.
Here are the community cards:
So there are now a total of 7 cards available to us and we take the best 5 card hand from those 7 cards.
In this hand we have two Aces (a pair) so our best hand is the pair of Aces followed by the next three highest cards:
Summary
The above is a very good introduction to the basic rules of poker and hopefully cuts through some of the confusion on the subject that a normal google search can produce.
Now you have a basic understanding of poker rules you should continue to look through the other articles in the Poker for Beginners section to continue to get a good introduction to poker.Once you have done that then it will be time to choose a game to learn by heading over to our Poker Games & Rules section – most people start out with Texas Holdem as this is the most widely played, but its up to you.
Trust & Security
I'll only recommend Safe & Trusted sites with a proven track record
By Game Type
Different rooms are better for different game types & stakes
Beginner Friendly
I'll find you a site with players of a similar skill level
Promotions
I'll find you the best value Promotions, Bonus & Freebies!
Poker rules are easier than you may think, and there's no better time to learn how to play poker than now, as this popular American game is played by many people today. The basic rules of poker are the same, and use the same 5-card poker hand ranking chart. There is one obscure poker game, named Badugi Poker, that uses a 4-card hand ranking chart, but the general rules of poker still apply.
Basic Poker Rules
Before you learn how to play poker games, you'll want to familiarize yourself with basic poker rules, such as how one poker hand ranks against another. Learning the rules of poker hands and how to determine a winner in poker might seem difficult at first, but with a little bit of studying and experience, you'll know how to play poker without having to think about it.
Table of Contents
Poker Hand Strength
The first thing to understand about poker rules is that each hand has its own strength. This strength is determined by how well the cards in your hand interact with each other. You want hands that create a run, are of the same suit, match each other's value, and are high in strength. Normal poker rules determine the strength of hands to be the higher value cards in the following order: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, and Two. The suit of each card does not determine any sort of strength in normal poker rules. There may be special poker rules for games where a suit is used to determine who gets to act first, but that is the only reason suit would be used.
Poker Hand Rank Chart
A normal poker hand must contain five cards. There are many games where more than five cards are used, but the winning poker hand is determined by the player who has the strongest five card poker hand. What is the best poker hand? Here is a list of basic poker hands. I've organized them from the strongest poker hands to the weakest poker hands: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and High Card.
- Check – you do not wish to bet any chips at the moment and you take the 'free' option – this is only an option if someone hasn't already placed a bet before your turn which removes the free option of checking.
- Bet – You make a bet by selecting an amount of money or 'chips' and clicking on bet if you are playing online poker or pushing them towards the middle of the table if you are playing live poker. The bet must be between the minimum and maximum limits in force which we'll discuss later. Once you have bet then other players must match that bet or they are eliminated from the hand.
- Call – If a player has already placed a bet and you wish to stay in the hand then you must match that bet, you are said to be 'calling the bet' or as you would announce 'I call'.
- Raise – If a player has already placed a bet then you have the option to place a bigger bet, this is called a 'Raise'.
- Fold – If a bet has been made and you don't want to match that bet then you 'fold' your hand. Folding your hand eliminates you from the hand.
Each betting round is complete when all players have either called the highest bet, or folded their hands leaving only one active player (the player who made the highest bet) – then the next cards are dealt and another betting round may start.
How Do I Win?
There are two ways to win a hand of Poker.
- You make a bet and everybody else folds their hand leaving you the only player left in the hand.
- You reach the end of all the betting rounds and you hold the strongest poker hand
For more information see our section on the poker hand rankings
How a Hand is made up?
In general there are two types of cards available to players:
- Hole Cards – these are cards which are dealt to an individual player – they are only available to use in the hand by the player they are dealt to.
- Community Cards – these are shared cards dealt in the middle of the table and are available for all players to use in their hands.
Depending on the rules of the individual game you are playing, Cards are either dealt 'face up' so everyone can see them or 'face down' so only the player who they have been dealt to can see them.
How a hand is made up will vary depending on which poker game you are playing, but to give you an idea lets look at an example from the most popular form of Poker – Texas Holdem Poker.
In Texas Holdem each player is dealt two 'Hole' cards – these cards are dealt face down and only the player knows what the cards are.
Here are the hole cards we have been dealt.
During the course of the hand a total of 5 community cards are dealt 'face up' for everyone to see in the middle of the table. These community cards are shared and available for all players to use in their hands.
Here are the community cards:
So there are now a total of 7 cards available to us and we take the best 5 card hand from those 7 cards.
In this hand we have two Aces (a pair) so our best hand is the pair of Aces followed by the next three highest cards:
Summary
The above is a very good introduction to the basic rules of poker and hopefully cuts through some of the confusion on the subject that a normal google search can produce.
Now you have a basic understanding of poker rules you should continue to look through the other articles in the Poker for Beginners section to continue to get a good introduction to poker.Once you have done that then it will be time to choose a game to learn by heading over to our Poker Games & Rules section – most people start out with Texas Holdem as this is the most widely played, but its up to you.
Trust & Security
I'll only recommend Safe & Trusted sites with a proven track record
By Game Type
Different rooms are better for different game types & stakes
Beginner Friendly
I'll find you a site with players of a similar skill level
Promotions
I'll find you the best value Promotions, Bonus & Freebies!
Poker rules are easier than you may think, and there's no better time to learn how to play poker than now, as this popular American game is played by many people today. The basic rules of poker are the same, and use the same 5-card poker hand ranking chart. There is one obscure poker game, named Badugi Poker, that uses a 4-card hand ranking chart, but the general rules of poker still apply.
Basic Poker Rules
Before you learn how to play poker games, you'll want to familiarize yourself with basic poker rules, such as how one poker hand ranks against another. Learning the rules of poker hands and how to determine a winner in poker might seem difficult at first, but with a little bit of studying and experience, you'll know how to play poker without having to think about it.
Table of Contents
Poker Hand Strength
The first thing to understand about poker rules is that each hand has its own strength. This strength is determined by how well the cards in your hand interact with each other. You want hands that create a run, are of the same suit, match each other's value, and are high in strength. Normal poker rules determine the strength of hands to be the higher value cards in the following order: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, and Two. The suit of each card does not determine any sort of strength in normal poker rules. There may be special poker rules for games where a suit is used to determine who gets to act first, but that is the only reason suit would be used.
Poker Hand Rank Chart
A normal poker hand must contain five cards. There are many games where more than five cards are used, but the winning poker hand is determined by the player who has the strongest five card poker hand. What is the best poker hand? Here is a list of basic poker hands. I've organized them from the strongest poker hands to the weakest poker hands: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and High Card.
Printable Poker Hand ChartThe printable poker hand chart on the right side of this page can be printed and brought with you to the casino and will help you learn how to play poker better. Next time you're wondering about the basic hand strength poker rules during a game, simply pull this printable poker hand rank chart out of your pocket. If you'd like to print a copy of our poker hand chart, just click the image below and a new page will open. From there, click print in your browser.
Here are basic poker hand ranking images that I've just described. Again, these are organized from the strongest hands to the weakest hands.:
Royal Flush – 1 in 649,740.00
A Royal flush is the most powerful hand in poker. The hand involves having all cards being the same suit, as well as the highest possible run, which is Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten. This run is also known at the 'Broadway' run. This hand is extremely rare to receive.
Straight Flush – 1 in 72193.33
A straight flush is similar to a royal flush, except a straight flush can be beat by a higher straight flush. A straight flush contains cards of the same suit, which also create a run. However, a straight flush changes its name to a royal flush when its highest card is an Ace.
Four of a Kind – 1 in 4165.00
Four of a kind is exactly what it sounds like, which is four of any card that is the same value. As you see in the example, we have four queens. The fifth card typically doesn't come into play unless you're playing a community game and the four queens are part of the community.
Full House – 1 in 694.16
Basic Poker Rules Printable
A full house is a combination of three of a kind and a pair. The strength of a full house is determined by the value of the three of a kind that is part of the full house. If both players have the same three of a kind, then the pair determines the winner. For example, if Player A has QQQ88 and Player B has QQQ66, then Player A will win because his pair of 8's are better than Player B's pair of 6's.
Basic Poker Rules For Kids 5 Card Printable
Flush – 1 in 508.80
A flush is a hand where all of the cards are of the same suit. Strength of a flush is determined by the highest card in the flush. If two players have flushes that have the same high card, then the next card us used to determine the winner. This goes on until one player has a higher card than the other. For example, If Player A had Q8652 and Player B had Q8653, then player B would win because his 3 is higher than Player A's 2.
Straight – 1 in 254.80
A straight is also known as a run. A player has a straight when all cards in his cards are in sequential order and at least two suits exist. If only one suit exists, then the hand would be considered a straight flush. The strength of a straight is determined by the highest card. If Player A has 87654 and Player B has QJT98, then Player B has the stronger hand.
Basic Poker Rules Printable
Three of a Kind – 1 in 47.32
Three of a kind is exactly how it sounds, three cards of the same value. The strength of this hand is determined by the value of the three of a kind. If both players have the same three of a kind, which is common in community games such as Texas Holdem, then the next highest value card is used to determine the winner.
Two Pair – 1 in 21.03
Two pair is when a player has two sets of two cards that have the same value. The strength of two pair is determined by the top pair first, then the second pair. For example, if Player A has JJTT4, and Player B has KK223, then Player B wins the hand because his top pair is higher than Player A's. In another example, if Player A has JJTT4 and Player B has JJ994, then Player A wins the hand because their top pairs match, but Player A's second pair is higher.
One Pair – 1 in 2.36
Having one pair is to have two cards of the same value. Determining the strength of a pair is simple; whoever has the higher value pair wins. If the pair is the same strength, then the next highest card determines the winner.
High Card – 1 in 1.99
Having high card is a weak holding. It's strength is determined by the single highest value card in the hand. If players have the same top card, then the next card is used to determine the winner, and so forth. Some people think that the odds of getting this are 100%. However, that figure is only correct when considering what your odds of getting high card or better are. In reality, you'll only get high card once in about every two hands you're dealt.
Popular Poker GamesPrintable Basic Poker Rules For Beginners
Poker players tend to play games in herds, meaning that they all tend to play the same poker games as each other. Players will typically start by learning Texas Holdem Poker rules, then move on to another poker game. Once a poker player is comfortable with the poker rules of their favorite game, then tend to play that game the most often and won't change games until a new and exciting poker game is released with different rules.
Basic Blackjack Rules Printable
At this time, the most popular poker game is Texas Holdem. This poker game has been around since before 1970 and was used as the poker game of choice in determining the World Champion of the World Series of Poker. The next most popular games are Seven Card Stud and Omaha Poker. There are many other poker games though, and all have different poker rules. Some poker games are played using a community, which are cards laid in the middle of the table for all players to share, and some poker games only allow players to use their own cards, which may be either hidden or exposed to other players. Here are the names of some other popular poker games. This list certainly does not cover all of the games, but it does give you a general idea of what other poker games people are playing: Razz, Lowball, Badugi, Chinese Poker, Big-O, Deuce to Seven Triple Draw, Five Card Draw, Five Card Stud, Pineapple, and Crazy Pineapple.
