Every few weeks I receive and e-mail asking me to determine the winning hand in a home poker game. I am always amazed at the number of people who are playing poker without knowing the rules. In this last e-mail the person said. "We were playing Texas Hold'em and the five board cards were higher than the cards that me and my friend had but he had a four card flush and he said that wins. I said it was a split pot. Who is right?"

I explained to the reader that it was a split pot because a "four-card flush" is not a winning hand. I suggested that before they play the next time they might want to get a copy of the hand rankings if they are unsure how to determine a winner and that they should never gamble money on any game if you don't know the rules.