General Poker: Standard of All Variations
The Mississippi river sharpers who first named the poker game may have gotten the original inspiration for the game from sailors in New Orleans who were playing a very old Persian game As-Nas. As-Nas and poker have the same structure of play. Twenty cards are used and five cards are distributed to players to comprise their hand. Pairs and such combinations and sequences as form and melds at Rummy were winning combinations, and bluffing was an important factor.
To play the standard games of poker family a standard deck of 52 cards are used. In some variations jokers and wild cards are added for some twists and more challenge. It is also not unusual to strip the deck of some low-ranking cards such as deuces and treys. In poker each player is on their own; there is no such thing as partnership play in any kind of legitimate game.
The poker deck consists of four 13-card suits: spades, diamonds, heart and clubs. The suits have no superiority to each other. The ace is the highest-ranking card, and in order of decreasing value the rest of the cards are king, queen, jack, ten, down to two or deuce. But the ace may be used at either end of a sequence, as the highest or the lowest. For example one has a straight flush of ten-jack-queen-king, the ace would be the higher than the king. If one's cards are two-three-four-five, the ace could be lower than two.
It is recommended to use two packs of cards and have backs designed in contrasts. By having an extra deck ready makes it easy in case player request for a new one. In two-pack play a contestant can ask for a change at any time and the change takes place immediately after the showdown of the current hand. That leaves little time lost.
The object of poker in its numerous variants is to win the pot (others call it the pool) by holding, during showdown, a hand of the highest rank among the players who have not surrendered yet. Even if one did not own the stronger hand but if all other players folded and they are the only one left, they are declared the winner. The winner will take the pot home.
In case of tie, the pot is divided amongst the players still in the hand. If the pot cannot be equally divided among the winners, the odd sum left after division will be for the player who was called. In high-low games the odd sum goes to one with the high hand.