The Basics of Poker

Poker is a card game in which players place chips (representing money) into a pot before betting. The aim is to have the best 5-card hand at the end of a round. The player with the best hand wins all of the money that has been put down as bets.

There are many different variants of Poker, but they all tend to have the same basic rules. Each player puts down a mandatory bet, called a blind, before being dealt two cards face-down (hidden from other players). There is then a round of betting, starting with the player to the left of the big blind. After the pre-flop betting phase, 3 more cards are dealt face up at the center of the table (revealed to all players). These are known as the flop. There is then another round of betting, starting with the player to left of the small blind.

The cards used in poker are the standard 52-card pack, plus a joker (which counts as either high or low depending on the specific game). There are four suits: spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs. The highest hand is a royal flush, which is four Aces in a row. Other high hands are straights (five cards in order, such as K-A-2-3-4), three of a kind, and four of a kind.

In some games, a high card breaks ties, and some have special rules for certain hands such as Deuces or One-Eyed Jacks (the ones that are wild). The player with the best 5-card hand wins all of the money in the pot.