Poker is a card game in which players place chips (cash or other value) into a pot, and then make a betting pattern. The object of the game is to win a “pot” by having the highest ranking poker hand or making a bet that no one else calls. There are many different variations of the game.
Each player is dealt two cards (sometimes referred to as a hand), and then five community cards are dealt face up (“the flop”). A player can then aim to make the best 5 card poker hand using their own 2 cards, and the community cards. Players may also bluff, and if they have the right strategy they can win big in the long run.
The highest poker hand is a Royal Flush, consisting of four matching cards of the same rank (such as 10s, Jacks, Queens, or Kings) of the same suit. Other high poker hands include a Straight, which is 5 consecutive cards of the same rank in one suit, and a Three of a Kind (three cards of the same rank). A pair consists of two cards of the same rank plus another unmatched card. A player may call a raise, or fold his hand. In the latter case he forfeits his rights to any side pots and only keeps what he has already staked in the main pot. He is also free to raise again later in the deal if he wishes.