Poker is a game of chance, played by a group of people around a circular table. Players evaluate their hands and decide whether to bet or fold. The best hand wins the pot.
Usually, there are two or more rounds of betting. After the last round of betting, a showdown occurs. During a showdown, the remaining players reveal their hands.
Poker is played with a standard deck of cards, ranked from Ace to Ace. There are five basic poker hands: Straight, four of a kind, flush, straight flush, and full house. Some variant games allow the use of wild cards, which can be used to make any combination possible.
Ties break when two or more people have the same high card. In some games, a jack or a pair of jacks is the minimum hand required.
Similarly, a flush breaks ties when two or more people have a flush. Two or more pairs of kings or a pair of kings are the highest winning hands.
One player, who has the privilege of making the first bet, is the initial dealer. The dealer then deals cards to the players face down, shuffles the deck, and cuts the cards.
Another round of betting occurs after the dealer has discarded the cards. Each player may replace any of the cards already dealt or discard up to three. Alternatively, a player can check. Lastly, a player may raise. A raise is a bet that exceeds the previous bet.