Poker is played with a standard 52-card deck. This is the foundation for almost every variation of the game you'll ever play. The deck is a balanced collection of numbers and symbols, divided into four groups.

These four groups are called suits. Each card belongs to one of four suits. Two suits are red, and two are black.

Each of these suits contains thirteen cards, which means every suit is identical in its composition and ranks. For example, there's a King of Hearts, a King of Diamonds, a King of Clubs, and a King of Spades.

To understand which hands beat others, you first need to know how individual cards stack up. The value of a card is called its rank. In most poker games, the Ace is the highest-ranking card.

The King, Queen, and Jack are known as "face cards" because they have pictures of people on them. The cards from 2 through 10 are called "number cards" or "spot cards."

Generally, no suit is ranked higher than another. A King of Spades and a King of Hearts are considered equal in rank. What matters is the card's value, not its suit.

Now that you know the basic building blocks, let's test your knowledge.

With the deck and card ranks understood, you're ready to learn about how these cards combine to form poker hands.