Poker is a card game in which each player is dealt two cards. These cards form pairs, and the highest pair wins. However, if two players have the same hand and are tied, the pot is divided equally. The highest card of the two hands is called the high card, and a high card can break a tie.
Poker is usually played with at least seven players. A game with this many players requires 200 chips. White chips are the lowest-value chips. Red chips are worth five whites; blue chips are worth ten or twenty or 25 whites; and dark-colored chips are worth two, four, or five reds. Each player “buys in” to the game by purchasing chips. Players in a game usually buy in with the same amount of money.
The best natural hand in poker is a straight flush. A straight flush is five cards in the same suit. The ace can be high or low; the high-card outside of a straight flush breaks ties. An Ace high straight-flush is called a Royal Flush. However, if the ace is high and the other four cards are low, it is known as a straight.
Various variations of Poker use different decks and include a joker. Each player in a game of poker makes a bet before seeing their cards. This prevents the game from going on too long and keeps each player somewhat invested in each round.