Poker is a card game played by two or more players. Each player puts an amount of money, called a bet, into a pot before the cards are dealt. During the course of one or more betting intervals, players may make raises or fold their hands. Minimizing losses with bad hands and winning with good ones is the key to success in Poker.
In the standard pack of 52 cards, there are four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs) and an Ace, which can be high or low. Some poker games use more than one pack of cards, or add a special wild card, called a joker, to the deck.
The dealer shuffles the cards, and then deals them to the players in a clockwise direction, beginning with the player to their left. Some variants of poker require a forced bet, called an ante, before the cards are dealt; this is done by raising your hand in front of you.
When it’s your turn, you say “call” if you want to match the last person’s bet and place that amount of money in the pot. You can also say “raise” if you’d like to bet more than the previous player, and then the other players will decide whether or not to call your new bet.
If no one has a pair or better, the highest card wins. If there is a tie for the highest card, the next highest rank wins.