Poker Rules

Play begins with each player being dealt five cards, one at a time, all face down. Players pick up the cards and hold them in their hands, being careful to keep them concealed from the other players. The first betting round occurs at this point, starting with the player to the dealer's left. In the second round, the player second from the dealer's left begins, and so on. If more than one player remains after this round, the draw phase begins.

Each player specifies how many of his cards he wishes to replace (up to three), and discards that many from his poker hand. Each player in turn is dealt the same number of cards he discarded, so that each player again has five cards. A second betting round occurs after the draw phase, followed by a showdown if more than one player remains.

Betting

We do not use an ante. Bets are made straight into the pot (place your gold coins directly in front of you on the table, this makes it easier to keep track of bets). The highest poker hand (that hasn't folded) wins the pot. We use a house limit of 50gp, meaning that you can not raise the bid by more than 50 at a time. When betting gets to you, you have one of four choices:

Bet - If you are the first player to bet, you would bet an amount within the betting limits of that particular poker game. This amount goes into the pot.

Call - When you call, you bet enough to match the total amount of what has been bet. For example, if a player bet 20gp, you would call and put 20gp on the table If another player raised your bet, you would put an amount equal to the raise into the pot (if you bet twenty fivgp, and another player then bet 60 gp, you would owe 40 gp).

Raise - When you raise, you first bet enough to match what has already been bet by another player (as in calling), then you 'raise' the bet another amount up to 50gp. For example, if a player bet 25 gp, you might call the 25 and raise another 50 gp- for a total bet of 75 gp.

Fold - When you fold, you drop out of the current hand. You lose any possibility of winning the pot, but you do not have to put any more money into the pot.

Poker Hands

Five Aces poker is played from a standard pack of 52 cards, without jokers or other wild cards. The cards are ranked (from high to low) Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Poker hands are ranked as follows (from high to low):

Straight Flush - The best possible natural poker hand. A straight flush has a straight (5 cards in order, such as 5-6-7-8-9) that are all of the same suit. As in a regular straight, you can have an ace either high (A-K-Q-J-T) or low (5-4-3-2-1). However, a straight may not 'wraparound" (such as K-A-2-3-4, which is not a straight). An ace high straight-flush is called a Royal Flush and is the highest natural poker hand.

Four of a Kind - This poker hand contains four cards of the same rank. If there are two or more hands that qualify, the hand with the higher ranking four of a kind wins. If, in some bizarre game with many wild cards, there are two four of a kinds with the same rank, then the one with the high card outside the four of the kind wins. Full House - This poker hand contains three of a kind and a pair, such as K-K-K-5-5. Ties are broken first by the three of a kind, then the pair. So K-K-K-2-2 beats Q-Q-Q-A-A, which beats Q-Q-Q-J-J. (Obviously, the three of a kind can only be similar if wild cards are used.)

Flush - This is a poker hand where all of the cards are the same suit, such as J-8-5-3-2, all of spades. When flushes tie, follow the rules for high card. Straight - This poker hand is 5 cards in order, such as 4-5-6-7-8. An ace may either be high (A-K-Q-J-T) or low (5-4-3-2-1). However, a straight may not 'wraparound" (such as Q-K-A-2-3, which is not a straight). When straights tie, the highest straight wins (e.g., A-K-Q-J-T beats K-Q-J-T-9 down to 5-4-3-2-A). If two straights have the same value (A-K-Q-J-T vs. A-K-Q-J-T) the two hands split the pot.

Three of a Kind - This poker hand consists of three cards of the same rank, matched with two cards that are not a pair (otherwise it would be a full house) - such as K-K-K-5-3. Again, the highest three of a kind hand wins. If both three of a kind hands are the same rank, then they compare high cards.

Two Pair - This poker hand contains two distinct pairs of cards and a 5th card - such as K-K-5-5-3. The highest pair wins ties. If both hands have the same high pair, the second pair which is higher wins. If both hands have the same pairs, the remaining high card determines the winner.

Pair - This is a poker hand consisting of one pair with three distinct cards - such as K-K-10-5-3. The remaining high card breaks ties.

High Card - If no player has a poker hand that qualifies as one of the above hands (e.g., K-J-10-5-3) the hand with the highest card wins. So, if no player has a pair or better, then the winning poker hand is simply the one with the highest single card. If multiple players tie for the highest card, the players look at the second highest card, then the third highest card, etc. High card is also used to break ties when the high poker hands both have the same type of hand (pair, flush, straight, etc).