Poker is a family of card games in which players wager over their best hand. In typical poker games, the player with the highest hand wins the pot. However, there are variations in the number of cards in play, the rules of the game, and the order in which bets are made.
The earliest known form of poker was played with twenty cards. A typical poker hand is composed of five cards. Players discard three of their cards and use the remaining two to make a hand.
Typical betting structures are no-limit, fixed-limit, and pot-limit. Players may bet any amount up to the limit. Often, players have the option to go “all-in” to showdown their hand for all the chips in the pot.
Cards are dealt clockwise around the table. Typically, the house dealer handles each hand. If the dealer has no cards, a player can select a card from the top of the deck.
Once the cards are revealed, players evaluate their hands. In some games, players may have to discard up to three cards. During the final betting round, the player with the best hand takes the pot.
In some poker games, the pot is divided between the highest and lowest hands. In others, the highest hand receives the entire pot.
Some variations of poker allow players to raise the previous bet, sometimes by the full amount. They can also choose to make a forced bet, such as an ante.
