Video:Tips for Explaining Poker Rules to Kids

Transcript:Tips for Explaining Poker Rules to Kids

Hi, I’m Susan Harding, here today with About.com and today I’m going to share some tips for explaining poker rules to kids.

Poker for Family Game Night

You may not want to teach your kids how to gamble, but poker can be a fun family game night activity and it doesn’t need to involve money. Most kids are happy just to play with chips. Remember, kids may learn best by seeing how it’s played, not just telling them. Show examples of the different winning hands. Make sure they understand the significance of the suits and how having cards in the same suit and in consecutive order changes the strength of the hand. Then show them how the hands rank – with a high card being the minimum you need to win…all the way up to the royal flush.

Practice Poker Hands with Kids

Then, do some practice hands with the child – and you might want to have the cards already stacked in their favor, to keep their interest, since every child loves to win. It’s also helpful to have a chart on hand – you can find printable ones on the internet – or just make one yourself - that shows the hierarchy of the hands, in case someone forgets how they rank. One of the most basic versions of poker is stud poker. Deal five cards – and then each player bets, depending on the strength of their hand. If someone bids the most chips and no one matches it, that player wins. If the bid is matched, then the two players show their cards and the best hand wins all of the chips.

Introduce Poker Strategies After the Basic Rules

Later, as kids play the game, they can learn the strategies behind betting and bluffing but for now, that can wait. They’re usually happy to just make simple bets and to get the biggest pile of chips. You may not want to always let them win, because it may not be long before they’re beating you at poker.

Thanks for watching, and if you’d like more information on poker or any other card game stay right here on About.com.