Poker is played by placing cards face down on the table and using these cards to make the best possible hand. The highest hand is the highest five-card combination, while the lowest hand is a pair of aces. There are a number of ways to win, including bluffing and betting on the highest card in a hand.
The betting process varies with the poker variant. Each player is dealt seven cards. In seven-card stud, the player who is dealt the highest five-card hand wins the pot. In other variations, the player who reveals the hand first wins the round. The players reveal their cards one by one in a clockwise direction around the table.
Poker is almost always played with poker chips. Whenever a game includes more than seven players, poker chips should be provided to all participants. Each chip has a certain value. The lowest-value chip is the white chip. Other chips are red, blue, and green. The chips are assigned a value by the dealer before the game begins. Once the game begins, players “buy in” by purchasing chips, usually the same amount.
Each round of poker is played with a different dealer. In traditional games, a player who is designated the dealer deals the cards. This person is responsible for shuffling the deck and dealing the cards to players. The dealer may also be a non-player. Players take turns being the dealer. The dealer chip is passed to a new player after each round. Certain betting rules are dependent on the location of the dealer.