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If you are going to play poker, then you are going to need to know the rules. Poker rules are generally simple depending on what poker game you are going to be playing. There are four commonly played poker games: Texas Hold Em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo and Five Card Stud. Once you have mastered these four games you will be ready to start playing for money. For the sake of brevity this article will cover the most common game of Texas Hold Em, and more specifically the types of hands that can win the game.

The most intricate part of poker is the betting but before you can even get to the betting portion of the game you have to know what cards make up the winning hands. Poker rules can be confusing but you will be able to master them by knowing what can beat what. First up is the grandfather of all hands. This is the straight called the Royal Flush. It is five cards of the same suit that start off with the ace and continue to the ten of cards. In a Straight Flush, all the cards must be in numerical order but this combination is the absolute best.

The next best hand is Four-of-a-Kind. This is four cards of any number. The best hand you can have in this situation is A-A-A-A-K. Obviously, you cannot get Four-of-a-Kind in the same suit. Following this card combination is the Full House. An example of this suit would be A-A-A-K-K. It is three cards of the same number followed by a pair of a different number.

Fourth on the list is the Flush.

Once you have mastered the basic poker rules of what makes a winning hand you will be able to bet with confidence.

That way you will know whether to bet the bank on a pair of deuces or simply fold. No use in pushing a dead hand if you know you are going to lose, unless you are a great bluffer.

It is any combination of cards within the same suit. Fifth on the list is the Straight. It can be in any suit but the numbers must follow each other. An example would be 2-3-4-5-6 of any suit. The remaining winning hands go from Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and No Pair. It really is pretty simple to understand once you have a deck of cards sitting in front of you. You can then see how the pairs and straights work.