Poker is a card game that’s played with a group of people around a table. The players bet continuously until one person has all the chips or everyone folds.
Poker uses strategy to win money, but also involves chance and luck. This combination makes it a perfect game for anyone, regardless of skill level or experience.
How to play poker
Poker begins with an ante, a forced bet in which all players must put a predetermined amount of money into the pot before the cards are dealt. The players’ hands develop in various ways after the initial deal, including discarding some of their cards and receiving replacements.
In standard games, a hand wins when it contains three or four cards of the same rank (i.e., a pair, a set, or a full house). If there are two or more hands that qualify, the highest card outside the hand breaks ties.
High Card Rules
The highest possible hand in most standard games is seven-five-four-three, or two pairs, but there are many wild card games that allow an ace to be treated as the lowest card. In these games, a straight flush beats any other hand with a single pair.
Other common hands are flushes, four of a kind, and three of a kind. A hand of four cards that is identical to a hand with the same rank is called a “backdoor flush”. It occurs when a player has one heart on the board and then hits another heart on the turn or river.
