Poker is a card game played by players who try to form the best hand possible. The highest-ranking hand wins the pot.
There are different variations of poker, each with its own rules and strategies. The most common are Draw and Stud, which use a pack of cards that is stripped to remove all deuces (twos) and treys (threes).
To start a poker game, one or more players make forced bets in the form of an ante or blind bet. After these bets have been made, the dealer deals cards to all players.
The player to the left of the dealer must then put in a small bet, called the small blind; and the player to their right puts in a larger bet, called the big blind. The dealer then shuffles the deck and deals cards to all the players one at a time, beginning with the player on their left.
After the initial deal, each player in turn makes a bet in the pot, and every other player must call their bet by placing the same number of chips into the pot or raise by adding more. When a player raises, they lose any chips that they have added to the pot.
Often a betting interval will last several rounds before the player who has the best hand is determined. Then if more than one player remains, there is a showdown. In this final round, the best hand takes the pot.