Poker is a card game where players place bets into a pot that they call the “pot”. The player with the highest ranked hand wins the pot. The cards are dealt out in rounds, with betting occurring between each round. Players can choose to bet, check (pass on their turn to act), or raise a bet (called raising). There are many variations on the game of poker, and there is an infinite amount of strategy that can be employed.

A common rule is that the player to the left of the button (shown by the dealer chip in the image) acts first, but the order of play changes each hand. Typically, one person is designated the “dealer” for each hand, but this role can be shared with non-players or players can take turns as dealer. Before any cards are dealt, the player to the left of the button must post a certain amount of money into the pot called the “blinds” (or bring-ins).

Players can raise, call, or fold when it’s their turn to act. If a player doesn’t want to make a bet, they can say “check” and then wait for the next player to act. If they don’t like their own hand, they can also fold and drop out of the hand. If all the players drop out of a hand, the player with the best 5 cards wins the pot. If the hands are equal, the highest card breaks ties.