Poker has many variations, but in its essential form it follows the same principles as 5-Card Draw, so this is the game we use to show you how to play.

Poker is one of the main card games where you use all the 52 cards in the pack. Aces are valued high, followed by the 'face' cards of King, Queen and Jack. You use all the suits in the pack and they all have equal value. Every player gets five cards, distributed one at a time by one of the players who assumes the role of Dealer. Your 'winning' hand is determined in the following order:

Ranking order

Royal Flush - the hardest hard to get: Ace to 10 in the same suite, running consecutively.

Straight Flush - also hard to get: a second sequence in the same suit, lower down the value scale than Royal Flush. There is no way to 'wrap around' the numbers, sich as A-K at the beginning and 2-3-4 at the end.

Four of a Kind - the same card from each suit, with four Aces being the best hand.

Full House - very often you can get this two-three combination: two of a kind followed by three of a kind. Clearly the higher value cared you collect, the better.

Flush - so long as you have five cards in the same suit (without having to be numerically connected) you have a Flush. The winner is the one with the higher-scoring cards.

Straight - here it is the numerical sequence that counts, not the suit of the cards.

Three of a Kind - the same card from each suit, with three Aces being the best hand.

Two Pair - the same card from each suit, with two Aces and two Kings being the best hand.

One Pair - the same card from each suit, with a pair of Aces being the best hand.

High Card - if nobody has any card sets, the one with the highest-value single card wins. Not a very common situation.

Basic Rules

1) Everyone places a bet in the central pot: this can be coins, banknotes or even bean-counters (depending on whether it is real money or practice play). Then everyone gets with 5 cards.

2) Arrange the cards according to the ranking order and decide which cards to exchange (you are allowed up to three). You can tell at this point what your chances are - if you have nothing and hope to get some good cards on the second round, your chances will be low.

3) Betting follows this sequence:

Open: One player started the betting by placing the bet in the center.

Check : This is what you say when you want to pass the betting action to the next player.

See : To stay in the game, you place the same amount in the pot as the other players. This is 'See'.

Raise : To take the initiative, you increase 'Raise' your bet beyond what other players have paid in. This makes it more difficult for them to 'See'.

Fold : A player with a weak hand may decide to 'Fold' in other words leave the game. His or her initial bet will be lost, remaining in the pot for others to win.

4) Playing the second round - you can exchange up to three cards that are passed to you face down. All players then continue bidding until everyone wants to See.