The Basics of Poker

Poker is a card game played by two or more people. Each player places a forced bet (the blind or ante) before the cards are dealt. Players then take turns revealing their hand and betting. The best hand wins the pot. In addition to the main bet, there may also be side pots. If a player chooses to fold, they lose their bet and drop out of the competition for the hand.

In most games, the dealer shuffles the deck and then deals each player one card face up, beginning with the player on their left. A player may cut the deck before each deal if they wish, but this is not always done. The cards may be dealt face up or face down, depending on the variant of poker being played.

Players can say “call” or “match” the last bet to stay in the hand, or they can say “raise” to increase the bet. The other players then have the choice of calling, raising or folding.

In standard poker, the highest hand is four of a kind (cards of the same rank). A flush contains five consecutive cards of the same suit. A straight contains five cards in a sequence but may skip ranks or have more than one suit. A pair is two cards of the same rank and three unmatched cards. Ties are broken by the highest unmatched cards or secondary pairs.