The game of poker involves betting among players who each hold a set of five cards. The highest hand wins. Each player has the option to call (match the current bet) or raise (put more money in than the previous bet). In addition, players may bluff, betting that they have a better hand than others, hoping that other players will call their bets. In most cases, the winning player takes all of the chips that were placed in the pot. Depending on the rules of the game, the remainder can be divided into side pots.
A standard deck of 52 cards is used, though some variant games use multiple decks or add extra cards called wild cards. Cards rank in the suits of spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs from high to low, with the ace being the highest card. Some poker games also allow for additional cards of varying ranks and suits, and may include special wild cards with different properties (such as dueces or one-eyed jacks).
Each player places bets on their own hand, then receives a single card. The dealer shuffles the cards and deals them to the players, beginning with the person to their left. The card is either face up or face down, depending on the game and the betting rules. The first of several betting rounds then begins.
After each round of betting, the players reveal their cards and the winner is declared. Some poker games have side pots, with the winning players taking only the part of the main pot that they contributed to during a particular betting round.
During a betting round, each player can raise or call the bet that was made by the player to their right. They can also fold, putting their cards down and leaving the table for the remainder of the round. When a player folds, they are giving up any chance of winning that round and thus must forfeit all the chips they put in before the final betting phase.
Some poker games require that a certain amount of money be placed in the pot before the first betting round, known as an ante. This is to prevent the game from being too long or to encourage each player to have some stake in the game. This ante is usually collected in a chip called the dealer chip. The dealer is the person responsible for shuffling and dealing the cards, although some poker games assign dealer duties to non-players.
The most common poker hands are a pair, a three of a kind, a straight, and a flush. Each of these hands has its own rank, with a straight being the best, followed by a flush and finally a three of a kind. In cases where no one has a good hand, the highest card breaks the tie (higher than the second highest, which would be a two of a kind). A higher card also beats a lower card in a hand that is tied for the same rank.
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