The Basics of Poker

Poker is a card game that involves betting by players on the strength of their hands and is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. Although poker has a substantial element of chance, it is a game that can be analyzed and improved through strategic decisions made by players on the basis of probability, psychology, and game theory.

At the beginning of a hand each player places an ante or blind bet (in some games there are both). The dealer then shuffles the cards and the player to his/her right cuts. Cards are then dealt, face up or down depending on the game. Betting rounds then occur, with bets being placed into a central pot. Occasionally cards will be added to or replaced in the player’s hand between betting rounds.

When it is your turn to act, you can say “call” if you want to bet the same as the last person or “raise” if you wish to increase the amount of the previous raise. If you don’t want to play the hand you can simply fold by saying “fold” or placing your chips/cash into the pot.

Poker hands are usually made up of five cards. The highest five-card hand wins the pot. A flush is 5 consecutive cards of the same suit. A straight is 5 cards of consecutive rank but from different suits. A three of a kind is three cards of one rank and two matching cards of another rank. A pair is two matching cards of the same rank. The highest card breaks ties.