The Deck of Cards
Most Poker games use a standard 52-card deck. The deck consists of 13 cards in 4 different suits: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs. In most Poker game variations, The suits have no inherent order of hierarchy.
The 13 cards within each suit, in normal order of high to low are:
Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9,8,7,6,5,4,3, and 2.
Aces are the highest ranked cards in most Poker games - for example, 3 Aces would beat any other set of three cards from 3 Kings downward to three 2's.
That said, Aces could remain as a high card or switch to become a low ranked card. For example, it can be either high as in this straight (run of 5 cards in numerical sequence): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, or low as in this straight: Ace,2,3,4,5. (note- you cannot wrap a straight from low to high through an Ace- meaning 3,2,Ace,King,Queen is not permitted).
A joker (or 'bug') is sometimes added to the deck, as in some Draw Poker and Lowball variations. It's not a wild card per se, but can be used in Draw Poker as an additional ace, or to complete a straight or flush. In Lowball, the joker is used as the lowest card that does not pair your hand. For example, if you held 7-6-2-A-Joker it would be the same as if you held 7-6-3-2-A.
PokerSchool Online's practice software uses a standard 52-card deck, with no jokers and no wild cards.
The Number of Players
Any number of players, from 2 to 10, can play Poker. It depends on the game played. Most live casino poker games are set up with 8 players for a 7-card game like 7-Card Stud or Razz, and typically 9 or 10 (most frequently 10) for Texas Hold'em.
Poker Chips
Whether you use pennies, dollars or buttons to bet with at home, the real thing cannot be beat. There is a just certain feel to real poker chips. Today, most poker chips are made of a durable composite or plastic. The plastic tends to be more slippery than the composite and therefore are harder to handle.
Chips come in a variety of colors and patterns. You may note that the designs and 'edge spots' on card room chips vary. This is for security reasons. However, the poker industry generally uses these traditional values and colors:
The PokerSchool Online practice software uses the following colors and denominations: