Poker, at its very essence, is a simple game. Its countless versions can be quite complex, however, which is why we're going to focus on 5-Card Draw, the easiest one for beginners to learn.

Poker is played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards. The cards are ranked from high to low in the following order: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Aces are always high. Aces are worth more than kings, which are worth more than Queens, which are worth more than Jack, and so on. The cards are also separated into four suits. The suits are:

But you already knew that from playing Go Fish, right? The suits are all of equal value, meaning that no suit is more valuable than another. It's a very democratic game. Each player is dealt five cards. The object of the game is to end up with the highest-valued hand. From best to worst, hands are ranked in the following order:

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  Royal Flush
   
•  
  Straight Flush
   
•  
  Four of a Kind
   
•  
  Full House
   
•  
  Flush
   
•  
  Straight
   
•  
  Three of a Kind
   
•  
  Two Pair
   
•  
  One Pair
   
•  
  High Card
   

Royal Flush

This is the most valuable hand in all of poker. A Royal Flush is composed of 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, all of the same suit. It's the toughest hand to get.

Straight Flush

A Straight Flush is comprised of five cards in numerical order, all of the same suit. It's not allowed to "wrap around," such as Q-K-A-2-3. This is also very rare. If you get two of these in a row, you are cheating. If there are two Straight Flushes at the table, then whichever hand's Straight Flush reaches the highest card value wins.

Four of a Kind

a Four of a Kind is Four cards of the same numerical rank and another random card. If there are two or more hands that qualify, the hand with the highest-ranking four of a Kind wins.

Full House

To get a Full House you must have , three cards with the same numerical rank, and the two cards that also have the same numerical rank. Ties are broken first by the Three of a Kind, then the Pair. So K-K-K-3-3 beats Q-Q-Q-A-A, which beats Q-Q-Q-7-7.

Flush

A Flush is comprised of five cards of the same suit, regardless of their numerical rank. In a tie, whoever has the highest-ranking card wins.

Straight

A Straight is Five cards in numerical order, regardless of their suits. Just like with the Straight Flush, a Straight cannot "wrap around." In a tie, whoever's Straight goes to a higher-ranking card wins.

Three of a Kind

A Three of a Kind is Three cards of the same numerical rank, and two random cards that are not a pair.

Two Pair

A Two Pair is Two sets of pairs, and another random card.

One Pair

One pair and three random cards. If more than one person has a One Pair, then the person with the highest-ranking pair wins.

High Card

If none of the players have anything of value, the player holding the highest-valued card wins, with the 2 as the lowest card, and the Ace as the highest. In the case of a tie, you move to the next highest card, and continue.