Poker is a game where players use cards to compete for money. Each player starts the game with a certain number of chips, called an ante.
Poker requires a variety of skills, including betting, raising, and folding. It also requires a deep understanding of hand strength, which allows players to minimize losses with poor hands and maximize winnings with strong ones.
Betting
Each player to the left of the dealer makes a bet, which other players must match. To do so, they either say “call” or make a bet of the same amount.
Raise
When you have a good hand, you want to raise to get more chips in the pot. The other players will then call your bet or fold.
Drop
If a player does not wish to put any chips into the pot, they can choose to drop, which means that they discard their hand and are no longer involved in the betting.
Showdown
The final round of betting is called the showdown, or “show”. The dealer deals five cards face-up on the table. The player with the best five-card hand wins the pot.
Basic Rules
There are four suits in poker: clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades. There are also some other ranks of hands, like a royal flush and straight flush.
The highest-ranking hand is a royal flush, which contains 10 cards of one suit (all clubs, diamonds, hearts or spades). A straight flush has 5 consecutive cards of the same suit.