How to Play Poker
As with most card games, in poker, players hold cards and try to assimilate a winning combination out of them. Each player has the opportunity to fold, check, bet, call, or raise to an opponent’s bet. Chips are usually placed in a pot that is either won or split by active players in each round. Poker is the most popular card game in the world with millions of active players.
Most people play the most popular variant, Texas Hold’em, however, there are plenty of variations that can be split into categories.
| Variant type | Short description | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Community card poker | Any variant that uses cards at the centre of the table that are shared by all players. | Texas Hold ‘em, Omaha, Razz |
| Stud poker | Any variant where players get a mix of both face-down and face-up cards over multiple betting rounds. | Five-card stud, Seven-card stud hi-lo, Wall Street stud |
| Draw poker | Any variant where players are dealt a full hand but are able to discard unwanted cards and draw new ones. | Five Card Draw, California lowball |
| Chinese Poker | Poker variants based on hand rankings where luck plays a bigger role. | Open-face Chinese poker, Pai Gow poker, Pineapple OFC |
At the core of all of these games is the grading system of winning hands. These can be laid out as follows:
