There are a large variety of poker games. Games from Texas Hold'em to Five card stud. Though the types of hands you try to get are always about the same, the games are played very differently. If you are interested in playing, you might want to go into one of the many poker tournaments that are offered online. First, though, you'll need to understand what types of games there are and what hands are the best.

Texas Hold'em is the most popular type of poker in the US these days. The game is played by dealing each player two individual cards and then placing, face up, on the table five more cards. Players make the best five card hands from the seven cards that have been dealt.

In five card stud, players are dealt five cards from which they must select at least one and up to all five to keep. The rest are given back to the dealer, who replaces the cards they hand back in with new cards. Betting goes on after this and then players reveal their hands. The player with the best hand wins.

The best hand that you can get is the Royal Flush. A Royal Flush is a type of straight flush. A straight means all cards are in sequential order. A flush means they all belong to the same suit. To achieve a royal flush, the cards must be Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten all in one suit. These are extremely rare hands.

The next best hand that you can have is four of a kind. It is just what it sounds like, four of the same number. If two people happen to have four of a kinds in the same round (which is highly unlikely but possible) the highest cards win.

Next on the list is the full house. A full house has three of a kind and a pair in the same hand. This is followed by a flush. Following comes the straight. A three of a kind (without a pair making it a full house) is then the next highest hand. Followed by two pairs, then one pair. If no player has any of those combinations, the winner is determined by the holder of the highest card.

The ace is the highest card, followed by the king and then on down the line from there. There are variations, depending on the house rules. Occasionally a card may be declared "wild, " in which case it can count as whatever card best helps your hand.

Make sure to learn how to play the game before joining any poker tournaments. They are a lot of fun, but they can be expensive to join in. The pots on the big tournaments, though, get up to several million dollars, so it can be lucrative if you have the skill and the patience to really learn to play the game well. Some people dedicate their whole lives to playing the game, so don't run into anything too big before you have some practice.