The Basics of Poker
During the game of poker, a group of people sit around a table and try to predict the hands of the opponents. The goal is to have the best hand and win. There are hundreds of variations of poker.
During the game, the dealer shuffles the deck and distributes one card face up to each active player. The cards are then discarded. If the player does not want to discard the cards, he or she may request a discard. The player can then take another card from the deck.
After the first round of betting, a player can fold or raise. When a player raises, all other players must call. If a player folds, he or she can no longer compete for the pot.
The pot is the aggregate of all bets made by all players in a single deal. The pot is divided equally in case of a draw. When the player who holds the best hand in the hand is the first to call, he or she takes the entire pot. If the pot is divided evenly, the players have the opportunity to split the winnings.
The first player to act is the dealer. He or she sits immediately to the left of the big blind. The player two positions to the left of the dealer has the small blind.
The initial dealer shuffles the cards and cuts the deck. The dealer then deals the cards to all players in order. Depending on the poker variant, the cards may be dealt face up or face down.