In poker, the highest-ranking hand is called a royal flush. This hand has 5 matching cards of the same suit, and it can be a high or low ace. Aces are not able to wraparound K-A-D-3-2-4, which would make the hand a Royal Flush. If the ace is a high card, however, it would be a straight. If both cards are aces, the hand is called a straight flush.
There are several variations of poker. A stud hand consists of two pairs of cards. Two pairs of the same card are considered a pair, and the player with the highest pair wins. The highest pair wins a hand if there are more players with two pairs than a high pair. A straight is five cards, and when both players have a straight, the higher card wins. There are many other variations of poker, and the rules of the most popular one can be found later in this chapter.
As with any game, rules and variations vary from casino to casino, but the fundamental rules of poker remain the same. Every round of poker has a dealer. This person is responsible for shuffling the deck and dealing cards to players. This role can be given to a non-player, or one player can take on the role for the whole game. Normally, players take turns being the dealer, and the dealer chip is passed on to a new player after each round. Certain betting rules differ depending on the location of the dealer.