The Basics of Poker
Poker is a card game played with a standard deck of cards. The aim of the game is to make the best hand out of five cards.
The highest ranking hand wins the pot. If nobody has the best hand, ties are broken with a high card. A pair of aces beats a pair of kings.
Poker is often played at clubs or casinos. It can be played with as many as eight players.
Players must make a minimum bet, known as an ante, before playing. The amount varies depending on the type of game. Once a player has made the minimum ante, the next player can match it or raise. Usually, the first player to bet is called to do so.
To raise, a player must bet more than the previous bettor. Unless the dealer has been told to bluff, a player is not allowed to reveal his hand.
Each player is dealt seven cards, and they reveal one at a time. The dealer assigns a value to each chip before the game starts.
There are four different poker hand categories. These include pairs, straights, flushes, and fours of a kind. When two players have similar hands, ties are broken by the highest unmatched card.
For example, a hand of J-J-2-2-4 beats 10-10-9-9-8. Another example is a pair of kings beating a hand of 6-6-4-3-2.
In some games, the ace is treated as the lowest card. However, in other games, the ace can count either high or low.