A ranking of Poker hands from royal flush to high card Standard five-card poker hands are ranked here in order of strength, from the strongest hand to the weakest.

Royal Flush - the best possible hand
Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10, all of the same suit.

Straight Flush
Any five-card sequence in the same suit (e.g.: 8, 9, 10, Jack and Queen of clubs; or 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of diamonds).

Four of a Kind
All four cards of the same value (e.g.: 8, 8, 8, 8; or Queen, Queen, Queen, Queen).

Full House
Three of a kind combined with a pair (e.g.: 10, 10, 10 with 6, 6; or King, King, King with 5, 5).

Flush
Any five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence (e.g.: 4, 5, 7, 10 and King of spades).

Straight
Five cards in sequence, but not in the same suit (e.g.: 7 of clubs, 8 of clubs, 9 of diamonds, 10 of spades and Jack of hearts).

Three of a Kind
Three cards of the same value (e.g.: 3, 3, 3; or Jack, Jack, Jack).

Two Pair
Two separate pairs (e.g.: 2, 2, Queen, Queen).

Pair
Two cards of the same value (e.g.: 7, 7).

High Card
If a hand contains none of the above combinations, it's valued by the highest card in it.

Hold 'Em Poker is a combination of Community Poker and the use of blind bets in place of antes. The main Hold 'Em game from which all others branch is Texas Hold 'Em.

In addition to designations of minimum bet and maximum bet, in Hold 'Em Poker (with the exception of Home Hold 'Em), designation will need to be made for the "small blind bet" and the "big blind bet". Instead of starting the pot off with players' antes, Hold 'Em games start off the pot with two blind bets (bets made by players before they even see their cards). The small blind should be slightly less or equal to the minimum bet. The big blind should be twice as much as the small blind.

Before looking at their cards, the player to the left of the dealer throws their small blind bet into the pot and the player to the left of the small blind throws their big blind bet into the pot. The player to the left of the big blind is the first player who can actually look at his or her hand before deciding whether or not to see the blinds and call, see the blinds and raise, or fold. The rest of the betting round proceeds as a regular poker betting round, bearing in mind that the two blinds have already invested money into this betting round and only need to see the bumps that were made after them.

This applies only to the first betting round. All other betting rounds proceed as per regular poker betting rounds, following the flipping of the community cards. The standard number of community cards in a Hold 'Em game is five. Three cards are flipped after the first betting round ("The Flop"), a fourth after the second betting round ("The Turn") and a fifth after the third betting round ("The River").

The Pre-Flop
Two cards are dealt face down to each player. Before or while they are being dealt, the player to the dealer's left makes the pre-determined "small blind" bet. This is immediately followed by the player to the left of the 'small blind' making the "big blind" bet.

The player to the left of the 'big blind' is the first player permitted to look at his or her hand before making a betting decision. That player can see the big blind and call, see the big blind and raise, or fold. The rest of the betting round conducts itself as a regular poker betting round, with the opening bet to call, raise, or fold being the big blind's.

When the betting round reaches the small blind, it must be noted that that player has already invested a sum of money into this betting round. Technically, it was the small blind that opened this betting round by making the initial (albeit, blind) bet. Whatever the amount of the betting round when it reaches the small blind, the amount of the small blind bet is what that player has already invested into this betting round.

The same goes for the big blind. If nobody bumps the bet after the big blind, then the big blind owes nothing, as this was the player that made the last bet. It must be noted, however, that contrary to regular poker betting, if nobody bumps the bet after the big blind, the big blind owes nothing BUT is still allowed the option to bump the betting round when it reaches him or her. If the big blind declines from bumping, then the betting round is over.

The Flop
The top three cards from the deck are flipped face up in the center of the table. The small blind opens a second betting round, which proceeds as a regular poker betting round. The TurnThe top card from the deck is flipped face up in the center of the table as the fourth community card. The small blind opens a third betting round, which proceeds as a regular betting round. The RiverThe top card from the deck is flipped face up in the center of the table as the fifth and final community card. The small blind opens a fourth and final betting round, which proceeds as a regular betting round. After this betting round, players make their best five card hands using the two cards in their hand and the five community cards in the center of the table.

Home Hold 'Em

Variations
One variation is played the same as Texas Hold 'Em, with the one exception that there are no blind bets. Each player antes into the pot as per regular poker. There is no small blind or big blind, all betting rounds are started by the player to the left of the dealer and as per regular poker betting rounds.

Another variation is played the same as Texas Hold 'Em, with the exception that there is no flop. Instead, the first three community cards are flipped one at a time instead of all at once. This adds two betting rounds (and pretty much removes all semblance of this being a Hold 'Em game over a Community game).

Omaha Hold 'Em

Variations
This is played the same as Texas Hold 'Em, with two exceptions.

One, that each player is dealt four cards at the beginning of the game instead of two.

Two, when making one's best five card hand, each player must use exactly three of the five community cards and two of their four hole cards.

The game can be played as per Texas Hold 'Em rules (with blinds) or as per Home Hold 'Em rules (with antes).

Another home variation is to allow players to use whatever combination of community cards and the hole cards that they want to make their five card hand.

Omaha Hi-Lo Split

Variations
This is played the same as Omaha Hold 'Em, with two exceptions.

One, that the game is played as High/Low. After the betting round following the River, the pot is split between the player with the highest hand at the table, and the player with the lowest hand at the table. The dealer or House will need to determine if "Hi" and "Lo" needs to be declared in clockwise order before showdown (or if 'cards speak'), and if a player is permitted to call "Both" using different five-card combinations of his or her nine cards.

Two, that in order to win 'Lo', a player must have no higher than an 8-down. If no player has an 8-down or less, then the game is played as All-High.

Irish Hold 'Em

Variations
This is played the same as Omaha Hold 'Em, with one exception.

After seeing the first three community cards on the flop, each player must discard two of their four cards. The rest of the game is played with players using the five community cards and the two cards left in their hand.