The Basics of Poker

Poker is a game of chance where players bet chips into a pot in order to win. It is an extremely popular pastime worldwide.

There are many variants of the game, with some of them more complicated than others. However, the basic rules of all forms of poker are the same: each player receives a hand of cards face up and must bet in one round. The winner is the player who has the best hand based on his or her two cards and five cards from the deck.

The Deal:

Once the first betting interval has passed, the cards are dealt in rotation to each active player. The dealer deals the first card, then the second, and so on until a jack appears.

Betting Intervals:

Once a betting interval has passed, each player must choose to “call” (put into the pot the same number of chips as the previous player to their left); or “raise” (“put in more than enough chips to call,” but not more than any of the preceding players); or “drop” (“fold”), which means putting no chips into the pot and discarding the hand.

The Showdown:

After the last betting interval, all remaining players show their hands. The first player to show his or her hand wins the round.

A Pair:

A pair of cards is a pair of cards that has the same suit, but different rank. This includes a pair of queens, kings, ace, jack, or ten.