Poker is a card game that can be played in hundreds of variants. But most of the basic rules are common to all. Each player starts with 2 hole cards and a round of betting follows once they’ve all received their cards. The first player to act places a bet of 1 or more chips into the pot. Each player to his left then has the option of calling that bet, raising it or dropping out of the hand. The player that raises the most wins the pot.
Players can also bluff in this game for a variety of strategic reasons. There is a strong element of chance in the game but the long-run expectations of the players are determined by their decisions which are made on the basis of probability theory, psychology and game theory.
The earliest known form of the game was Primero (French, 17th – 18th centuries), a three-card game that evolved into the game we now know as poker. The game became more popular in the early 21st century largely due to the invention of the hole card camera and the proliferation of television broadcasts of poker tournaments which attracted large spectator audiences.
You deal yourself a pair of kings off the deal. You check (which means you don’t owe anything to the pot). Charley calls and puts a dime into the pot. Dennis raises the dime, which is called a raise. If you are the last active player, and have a high hand, you call and win the pot. High hands include a pair, a straight or a flush. If you tie with another player, the highest high card wins.