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How to Play Poker

Written by Dylan Collins

Written on June 23, 2025

Poker is a game that has been around for centuries. At its core, poker is a card game that

combines strategy, psychology, probability, and chance. In this version, I will teach you how to

play 5-card draw poker, as it is the easiest version to learn, with a simple learning curve that can

grow to a limitless learning ceiling. This guide is intended for beginners with no prior experience

at a typical home game, covering the rules, setup, betting strategies, and winning tips.

This set of instructions features no maximum betting limit for play and is designed for 2 to 6

players.

Table of Contents

Materials Needed – pg. 2

Starting the Game – pg. 2

Objective of the Game – pg. 3

Card Ranking – pg. 3

Poker Hand Ranking – pg. 3

Playing a Round – pg. 4

Betting Strategies – pg. 5

Winning Tips – pg. 6

Materials Needed

 A standard 52-card deck with the jokers removed.

 Poker chips (Would recommend having the values of $1, $5, and $10 in distinct colors).

 A table large enough for everyone to play, but not too big that you can’t give a card to

someone without flipping it over.

 Some form of token to represent who is the dealer.

Starting the Game

1. Gather chips

a. If the party decides to do a buy-in for chips, you must exchange however much

money you want for an equal value in the chips.

b. If the party doesn’t want to buy in for chips, everyone at the table receives an

equal amount of each type of chip. Recommended amount for each is 10-15 of the

smallest valued chip, followed by 5 of each of the higher values.

2. Choosing the dealer

a. The party collectively decides who should be the first dealer, marked by the

assigned token.
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Objective of the Game

The goal of each round is to win the chips in the pot. This is done in one of the following ways:

 Having the best five-card hand at the table

 Being the only player not to fold.

Card Ranking

Every Card has a value (2 through Ace), as well as a suit (Spades, Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds).

When comparing the cards’ strength, only the value matters.

Highest: Ace (A), King (K), Queen (Q), Jack (J), 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2: Lowest

Poker Hand Ranking

1. Royal Flush: A, K, Q, J, 10 of the same suit

2. Straight Flush: Five cards of consecutive values with the same suit

3. Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same value, suits don’t have to match

4. Full House: Three of a Kind with a Pair, suits don’t have to match

5. Flush: Five cards with the same suit, numbers don’t have to match
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6. Straight: Five cards of consecutive values, suits don’t have to match

7. Three of a Kind: Three cards with the same values, suits don’t have to match

8. Two Pair: Have two pairs, suits don’t have to match

9. Pair: Two cards of the same value, suits don’t have to match

10. High Card: The highest valued card in your hand

Playing a Round

1. Dealing the cards

a. All players who wish to play this round place the smallest valued token they have

into the center of the table, this is called the Ante.

b. The dealer shuffles the deck and passes each player a card face down, starting

with the player to their left, moving clockwise until the dealer gives themselves a

card. Repeat until each player has five cards.

2. Discarding

a. When it is your turn, you may discard up to three cards from your hand, receiving

however many you discarded from the dealer.

3. Betting

a. Starting with the player left of the dealer, they have four choices when it is their

turn to bet:

i. Check: Used when you do not want to add any more chips to the pot.

ii. Call: Put the same value of chips in the pot as the current highest was in

this betting round.

iii. Raise: Increase the highest value of chips bet this round; all previous

players must either match the amount or fold

iv. Fold: Discard all your cards and be unable to bet or win any chips from

the pot.

b. After all of the players have made their decisions, the current betting round is

over, repeat one more time.

4. Showing your cards

a. After the second round of betting is over, all players who haven’t folded reveal

the cards they have, announcing what hand they had.

b. The player with the greatest hand wins, claiming all the chips in the center of the

table.

c. Refer to the Poker Hand Ranking section for which hands beat others.

5. Starting the next round

a. The dealer token and all cards are passed to the player to the left of the current

dealer.

b. Repeat all steps from step 1 for the next round.

Betting Strategies

Because everyone’s cards are hidden, it is important to know that the betting phase is just as

important as the cards you receive. You might be able to bluff everyone into thinking that you

have a better hand than you do. Here are some essential tips to keep in mind when betting:
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1. Start small

a. By starting small, you can gauge the strength of other players’ cards. This can

help you understand if someone has a stronger hand

b. Another thing you could do is trick your opponents into betting more than what

they would want to, only do this when you have a strong hand. The term for this

is called a “trap”, which comes from players who place a small bet, often don’t

want to lose it, even if it costs them more.

2. Understand your strength

a. Knowing which hands can beat you is essential for deciding how many chips to

bet when it is your turn. If a majority of hands beat you, you might want to fold.

Else, play on.

3. Know when to trap

a. It is important not to always trap an opponent. Doing so will allow them to know

when you have a good hand and fold.

4. Know when to bluff

a. Bluffing is the core mechanism of poker. By being able to convince your

opponents through subtle features (A nervous look, shaking hands, etc.), you will

be able to recognize these in your opponents and win more often.

Winning Tips
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The most crucial point of the game is deciding which cards to discard. Since only three can be

chosen, it is essential to know what constitutes a good strategy. These are some tips to keep in

mind when discarding.

1. Understanding what you have

a. When you look at your cards, you will find yourself often looking at a high-card

hand, but you have to see each card as its own piece of a puzzle.

b. Assuming your hand is the following: 9, 7, K, Q, J. You might think you only

have a high card, but you are only one card away from a straight.

c. When organized, you see that you should replace the 7, aiming for a 10.
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2. Understanding the odds

a. When you are trying to decide what to go for, always assume that you are dealing

with a deck of cards, minus the five you have.

b. In this example, assume you have a high card, being an ace, then a jack. If you’re

going for a pair, you have a 3/47 (6.3%) chance of getting either of those.

3. Combining these

a. Remember that there are 13 values, with 4 suits for each card. This means that

knowing what you don’t have is just as important as what you have. When

looking for what you need, take each suit or value and multiply it by itself as

many times as needed to achieve the hand you require to understand the odds of

receiving it.