Most video poker players can improve their chances by following the few simple rules for holding or discarding the first five cards that they have been dealt:
Always hold a royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, three of a kind, or two pair. However, with three of a kind, discard the remaining two cards for a chance at four of a kind while leaving full house opportunities open, and with two pair, discard the fifth card for a chance at a full house.
Poker and Backgammon share many interesting similarities. In fact, many of the top poker pros, like Gus Hansen and Erik Seidel, played tournament Backgammon before the poker craze. With the advent. In some poker variants, such as No Peek, it is necessary to compare hands that have fewer than five cards. With fewer than five cards, you cannot have a straight, flush or full house. You can make a four of a kind or two pairs with only four cards, triplets with three cards, a pair with two cards and a 'high card' hand with just one card.
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Break up a flush or a straight only when you have four cards to a royal flush. That is, if you have ace-king-queen-jack-9, all of clubs, discard the 9 to take a chance at the big payoff for the 10 of clubs. That still leaves open the possibility of a flush with any other club, a straight with any other 10, and a pair of jacks or better with any ace, king, queen, or jack.
Break up a pair of jacks or better if you have four cards to a royal flush or four cards to a lower straight flush.
Keep a low pair instead of a single high card (jack, queen, king, or ace).
Do not draw to a four-card inside straight -- one in which the missing card is in the middle rather than on either end -- unless it includes at least three high cards. A four-card open straight is one that has space open at either end to complete the hand; for example, a hand of 4-5-6-7 can use either a 3 at one end or an 8 at the other to complete the straight. An inside straight has space in the middle that must be filled to complete the hand; 4-6-7-8 needs a 5 to become a straight. Open straights give the player a better chance, with twice as many cards available to fill the straight.
Optimal Strategy
Once you're used to the quick strategy, you may want to move on to a version that is more complex, but more accurate. Following is a strategy that is optimal for the common 8-5 and 7-5 Jacks or Better machines. It also varies only about a tenth of a percent from optimal on 9-6 Jacks or Better and for Bonus Poker machines.
Just as in the quick version, a few hands are never broken up. Obviously, if you're fortunate enough to be dealt a royal flush, you hold all five cards and wait for your payoff. (On payoffs this large, the machine will flash 'Jackpot!' or 'Winner!' In these cases the winnings will be paid by an attendant rather than by the machine. Do not put more coins in the machine or attempt to play another hand before you are paid for the royal flush.)
Also hold all five cards on a straight flush or a full house. Hold all four matching cards on four of a kind. Hold three of a kind while discarding the other two cards for a chance at either four of a kind or a full house. Hold both pairs in a two-pair hand, but discard the fifth card for a chance at a full house.
In the right circumstances, however, the player sometimes will break up a flush, a straight, or a pair of jacks or better. If you do not have one of the 'always keep' hands, use the following list. Possible predraw hands are listed in order. Find the highest listing that fits your predraw hand, and discard any cards that do not fit the hand. For example, if your hand includes jack of spades, jack of diamonds, 10 of diamonds, 9 of diamonds, and 8 of diamonds, you have four cards to an open straight flush in diamonds, and you also have a pair of jacks or better. The four-card open straight flush is higher on the list than the pair of jacks or better, so you would discard the jack of spades and draw to the four-card straight flush. You are giving up the certain 1-for-1 payoff for a pair of jacks, but you have a chance at a straight flush with either a queen or 7 of diamonds, could draw a flush with any other diamond, or still could finish with a pair of jacks by drawing the jack of either clubs or hearts.
This strategy distinguishes between inside straights or straight flushes and open straights or straight flushes.
Remember, keep a royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, three of a kind, or two pair. Here is how other predraw hands rank:
1. Four-card royal flush. Note that you would break up a flush, a straight, or a high pair when you're missing only one card in a royal flush. But if you have a straight flush that runs from 9 through king of the same suit, take the straight flush payoff rather than chasing the royal.
2. Flush.
3. Straight.
4. Four-card open straight flush. The big difference in the payoff between a royal flush and a lower straight flush means that the only winning hand you break up to chase a straight flush is a pair of jacks or better, whereas you'd also break up a flush or a straight to chase the royal. There is no option to break up two pair.
5. Four-card inside straight flush.
6. Pair of jacks or better. Discard the remaining three cards. Sometimes players who are used to playing table poker want to keep a high-card 'kicker' to the pair -- for example, holding an ace along with two queens. Don't hold a kicker in video poker; give yourself the maximum chance to draw a third high card, or even a full house or four of a kind.
7. Three-card royal flush.
8. Four-card flush.
9. Four-card open straight, two or three high cards. An example would be 9 of clubs, 9 of spades, 10 of clubs, jack of hearts, queen of diamonds. Throw away one of the 9s, and the remaining cards give you a chance at a straight with either an 8 or a king, and you also have a chance at either a pair of jacks or a pair of queens.
10. Low pair (two 10s or lower). Most new players keep a single jack or better rather than a low pair, and it's true that keeping that one high card will result in more frequent winning hands. But most of those will be 1-for-1 payoffs for a pair of jacks or better. Keeping the low pair will result in more two-pair, three-of-a-kind, full-house, even four-of-a-kind hands.
11. Four-card open straight, one high card.
12. Three-card inside straight flush with two high cards.
13. Three-card open straight flush with one high card.
14. Four-card open straight, no high cards.
15. Two-card royal flush, no Ace or 10. You won't hit the royal most of the time, but more possible straights can be formed with lower cards than with aces. And unlike other parts of a royal flush, the 10 leaves no potential high-pair payoff. So the two-card royal is a better play with cards in the middle than with aces or 10s.
16. Three-card double inside straight flush, two high cards. A double inside straight flush has both cards missing on the inside; for example, 8-jack-queen of clubs, where the 9 and 10 are needed.
17. Four high cards; ace, king, queen, and jack of mixed suits. The draw could match any of them for a pair of jacks or better or bring a 10 for a straight.
18. Three-card open straight flush, no high cards.
19. Two-card royal flush, including ace but no 10.
20. Four-card inside straight with three high cards. For example, king-queen-jack-9 of mixed suits; this is the lowest ranking inside straight we draw to. With any others that do not qualify elsewhere on the list, discard all five cards. With jack-10-8-7-3, you'd keep the jack (no. 26 on the list), but with 10-9-7-6-3, you'd draw five new cards.
21. Three high cards.
22. Three-card double inside straight flush, one high card.
23. Three-card inside straight flush, no high cards.
24. Two high cards.
25. Two-card royal, includes 10 but no ace. Note that we don't draw to two-card royals consisting of an ace and a 10. In that case, you would just keep the ace and discard the rest.
26. One high card.
27. Three-card double-inside straight flush, no high cards.
In any hand that does not fit one of the above categories, draw five new cards.
That's a pretty lengthy list for a beginner, but it can be shortened considerably by taking all those three card straight flushes -- open, inside, double inside, with high cards, without high cards -- and lumping them together just below four high cards. That'll cost you a few tenths of a percent, but when you're comfortable with the rest of the strategy, you can start breaking down the categories for more expert play.
Money Management
Two important points to remember: Don't overbet your bankroll, and if a machine is available at which you feel comfortable playing the maximum number of coins, do so. If you are sitting down to play with $20, you don't belong at a $1 machine that will take up to $5 at a time. It is better to play five quarters at a time than one dollar at a time. Though video poker machines pay back a high percentage of the money put into them, the payouts are volatile. It is not unusual to go five or ten or more consecutive hands with no payout. Don't play at a level at which you do not have the funds to ride out a streak.
While the saying, 'The house always wins,' is true for almost any casino game, video poker is one of the few exceptions. If you have patience and can follow the simple rules in this article, you may come out ahead for once.
For more information on video poker and general poker tips, try the following links:
- To see all of our articles on poker rules and advice, go to our main article on How To Play Poker.
- Whether you're playing a machine or eight guys with cigars, you'll be glad to know some Poker Basics.
- If you like your card games on a screen, you might enjoy learning How to Play Poker Online.
- There are other machines happy to take your money on the gambling floor. Be smarter than they are with some Casino Gambling Basics.
Table Of Contents
Other Poker Game’s Rules:
How to Play Poker for Beginners: Basics and Poker Rules
Before you learn how do you play poker, you need to figure out what variant of the game you want to get busy with.
When most people say they want to know 'how to play regular poker,' they imply that they want to learn the basics of Texas Hold'em.
Texas Hold'em is (by far) the most popular poker game out there and it's the one you find at every online poker site.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. With so many poker variants to play online and offline, the only proper guide on how to play poker for dummies is the one that get you access to all the best games out there.
Java Two Of A Kind Poker
Not just to the most famous one.
Many poker rules are consistent from game to game, although among the dozens of variants such as Texas hold'em, Omaha, and seven-card stud you will find many differences.
Let's have a quick look at the poker rules of the most played poker games online:
How to Play Texas Hold'Em
| Game | Texas Hold'em |
| How Many Players | 2-10 |
| Poker Rules | How to play Texas holdem |
| Where to Play | Top poker sites |
Also called the 'Cadillac of Poker,' Texas hold'em is the game you are going to play over and over again.
This is the most popular poker game online and it is also the one you are most likely to play with our friends in your next home game.
Whether you play it in the form of a tournament or as a ring-game, the basic rules and the hand rankings don't change.
How to Play Omaha Poker
| Game | Omaha Poker |
| How Many Players | 2-10 |
| Poker Rules | How to play Omaha |
| Where to Play | Top poker sites |
The second-most popular poker variant. Omaha poker finds its roots in the game of Texas Hold'em, although the rules of the two games are slightly different from each other.
Many players find learning how to play poker Omaha to be the natural step to take after they have successfully mastered the basics of Texas Hold'em.
In the poker rules page dedicated to the game you find the perfect beginner's guide to move your first steps in the world of Omaha.
How to Play Seven-Card Stud
| Game | Seven-Card Stud |
| How Many Players | 2-8 |
| Poker Rules | How to play 7-card Stud |
| Where to Play | Top poker sites |
Before Texas hold'em became king, anyone who wanted to to learn the basic poker rules and how to play poker had to go through the game of seven-card stud.
As the name suggests, this is a variant of stud poker. 7-card stud is also the 'S' game in the H.O.R.S.E. poker — but if you are still learning how to play poker, it's probably too early for you to jump on that.
Other Poker Rules to Learn
If you want to go deeper and you want to learn how to play even more poker games, PokerNews is the right site for you.
With these guides you learn how to play poker and enjoy all the different variants out there.
They cover all the official poker rules, the basic strategy tips, and the hand rankings — because you need to know how to calculate points, if you want to win at poker.
Start from them, and then follow the suggested reading on each page to move from beginner to pro.
Common Traits of Most Poker Rules
The Value of Poker Hands
One element used in most poker variants is the system of hand rankings.
Poker Two Pair Three Of A Kind
The highest ranked hand is a Royal Flush (five cards of the same suit, ranked ace through ten), followed by a Straight Flush (five cards of the same suit of consecutive ranks).
The third-best combination is the Four-of-a-kind, which is then followed by the Full House (three of a kind plus one pair), the Flush, the Straight, the Three-of-a-kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and High Card or no pair.
When a hand reaches the showdown, the player with the highest-ranked hand wins the pot.
That's true of Texas hold'em, pot-limit Omaha, seven-card stud, and five-card draw.
Of course, in 'lowball' games like razz or deuce-to-seven triple draw, the hand rankings are turned upside down and the 'worst' hand according to traditional hand rankings is the winning one.
Poker Hands Ranking
- Royal Flush10JQKA
- Straight
Flush56789 - Four Of
A Kind3333K - Full HouseJJJKK
- Flush2459K
- StraightA2345
- Three Of
A Kind45777 - Two Pair499KK
- One Pair3QK1010
- High Card248QK
Suggested Readings
- Poker Hands Chart: The official classification of all poker hands with a free pdf to download and print.
- What Beats What in Poker: the perfect starting guide to learn how to count points in poker and discover the real value of each hand.
Blinds and Ante Bets
Games like hold'em and Omaha feature small and big blinds, so called because they are 'blind' bets players have to make before they are dealt any cards.
Meanwhile stud games usually use 'antes', which also involve players putting chips in the middle before the hand begins.
From there players bet more as the hand progresses, thereby creating larger pots.
Limit vs. No Limit Poker Games
Some games are played with no-limit betting, which means players can bet as much as they like at any point in the hand, including going 'all in.'
Pot-limit betting means that the current size of the pot creates an upper limit on how much a player can bet.
Games that are played with fixed-limit betting have predetermined amounts from which players cannot vary when they make their bets and raises.
The Action
There are other terms that tend to be used in all different poker games, including many having to do with the actions you perform when playing.
When the action in on you, you can:
- Check: Decline to bet
- Fold: Withdraw from the hand, if someone else has bet already
- Bet: Place a wager on the table
- Raise: Add more chips by matching your opponent's bet and putting in a greater amount.
- Call: Match the bet of your opponents to stay in the hand and continue to play.
All of those terms are an important step in your journey to learn how to play poker since they tend to come up in all poker variants.
The Betting Rounds
In games with community cards like hold'em and Omaha (also sometimes called 'flop games'), the betting rounds are referred to as:
- Preflop: The bets made before any community cards are dealt
- Flop: The bets made after the first three community cards are dealt)
- Turn: The bets made after the fourth community card
- River The bets made after the fifth and last community card.
Suggested Readings
- How to bet in poker: a beginner's guide to betting in Texas hold'em.
- Texas hold'em betting tips: This short article gives you some actionable tips to learn how to play poker with your stack of chips.
The Table Stakes
One other poker rule common to just about every variant of the you'll play – whether you are playing live poker or online poker – is one called 'table stakes.'
Table stakes means that once a hand begins, you can only bet whatever amount you had on the table to begin the hand and are not allowed to add anything more during the hand as it plays out.
If you only have $100 on the table to begin a hand, you can't pull out your wallet and add more halfway through the hand – you can only play out the hand with whatever you had to start.
Practice Poker Online for Free
Now that you know everything about the basic poker rules and you have all the beginner guides you need to master each game, it's time to look for the best places to practice for free.
Don't start to play poker for real money right away. Try out the games for free first. That's the only way to discover if you have really learned how to play poker.
Looking for a site to practice online poker for free?
Don't miss the updated list of the best free poker sites in 2020!
There are countless options to give the game a test run, but the best way is to try out the real deal.
Sign up for a poker account with one of the big online poker rooms and give the freerolls a try.
That way, you can practice poker online without any risk; you're not wagering any money. And if you want to try out cash games instead of tournaments, all major poker sites online have so-called play money tables.
That way you can practice the game, learn the rules, and figure out how the software works, readying yourself for the big stage.
Register a free gaming account and test your poker knowledge in the next freeroll!