Probably the most widely played card game, Poker is a game of skill and chance. Players make bets on their five-card hands and the best one wins the pot.
A standard 52-card deck is used in most games. A wild card, or a joker, is occasionally added to the deck. This allows players to form a high straight flush or a low hand.
Poker is typically played with plastic or ceramic chips. After the cards are dealt, each player must place a number of chips equal to the amount of money contributed by the player before him in the pot. The amount of chips in the pot is usually counted to determine the winners.
The ace-high straight-flush, or the Royal Flush, is the best natural hand in Poker. It is made up of a King, an Ace, a Queen, a Jack and a Ten. It is also called a quads because of the common nickname for four of a kind.
The full house is a combination of three aces and two sixes. A pair of kings is not very good off the deal, but it is better than a pair of jacks.
Ties are broken by the highest card. A straight flush ace can be high or low. If two people have a straight flush and the high card is a deuce, the second pair will win.
Ties break when more than two people have the same high card. For example, if two people have a four of a kind, the high card outside the four of a kind breaks the tie.