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Poker is played with a standard pack of 52 cards. (Some variant games use multiple packs or add a few cards called jokers.) The cards are ranked (from high to low) Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace. (Ace can be high or low, but is usually high). There are four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs); however, no suit is higher than another. All poker hands contain five cards, the highest hand wins.
There is no single version poker, instead there are many variations. All of them are generally played with a standard deck of 52 cards. A standard deck consists of of thirteen different ranks of cards, and they are: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Each of these cards comes in four different suits: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades.
Poker games involve rounds of betting into a common fund, or "pot", and rounds of replacing/receiving cards. The number of betting rounds and card draws depends on the particular variation of the game you are playing. Action proceeds in a clockwise direction.
Some games have Wild Cards, which can take on whatever suit and rank their possessor desires. Sometimes jokers will be used as wild cards, other times, the game will specify which cards are wild (deuces, one-eyed jacks, or whatever).
Texas Hold'em is one of the most dramatic and popular varieties of poker in the world, and it seems like everywhere you turn there is another show, another website, or another article dedicated to the subject. But, how do you play the game? How does it differ from classic poker games, such as Five Card Draw? And what exactly is a Flop, anyway? This article will walk you through a Texas Hold'em game from start to finish, you will learn Texas Hold'em poker rules, and by the end you will be ready to "Shuffle Up and Deal!"
Blackjack hands are scored by their point total. The hand with the highest total wins as long as it doesn't exceed 21; a hand with a higher total than 21 is said to bust. Cards 2 through 10 are worth their face value, and face cards (jack, queen, king) are also worth 10. An ace's value is 11 unless this would cause the player to bust, in which case it is worth 1. A hand in which an ace's value is counted as 11 is called a soft hand, because it cannot be busted if the player draws another card.
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The goal of each player is to beat the dealer by having the higher, unbusted hand. Note that if the player busts he loses, even if the dealer also busts (therefore Blackjack favors the dealer). If both the player and the dealer have the same point value, it is called a "push", and neither player nor dealer wins the hand. Each player has an independent game with the dealer, so it is possible for the dealer to lose to one player, but still beat the other players in the same round.
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There are relatively few decisions to make when playing Blackjack. You must consider your cards and your dealer's card and remember, if you go over 21, you "bust", and if you "bust" you lose.
Play progresses as follows:
A card is dealt, face up, to each player in turn and then one to the dealer. The dealer's card is face down and called the "hole" card.
A second card is then dealt, again face up, to each player.
Starting from the player to the left of the dealer, each player decides whether to draw further cards.
After all players have completed their hands, the Dealer proceeds to draw cards to complete the Dealer's hand.
You win if:
Your total is higher than the Dealer's total
The Dealer goes over 21 or "busts".
If your total is the same as the Dealer's total it is a "stand-off" and you neither win nor lose.
If you go over 21, or the Dealer's total is greater, you lose.
The Values of the Cards
Cards in Blackjack are assigned the following point valies:
Picture Cards (Jack, Queen and King) each count as 10 points.
An Ace counts as 1 point or 11 points, whichever is better for owner of the hand.
All other cards have their numerical face value.
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