The Basics of Poker

Poker is a card game in which players wager money on the outcome of a hand. The object of the game is to win the pot, which is the sum of all bets made in a round. A player may win the pot by having a high-ranking hand, or by making a bet that no other player calls. Players may also bluff, betting that they have a strong hand when in fact they do not, in order to force other players to call their bets.

Each player begins the game by placing an ante. The dealer then shuffles the cards and deals each player two cards face down. The player to the left of the big blind acts first; he or she may fold, call the big blind, or raise. The dealer then “burns” one of the top cards and deals three community cards (the “flop”) face up on the table.

Each player then evaluates his or her own hand and places bets according to his or her perceived strength. Players may call (match the amount of the last bet), raise (increase the size of the bet, which any player must match to stay in), or fold (surrender the hand). Some games have wild cards, such as four-of-a-kind and aces full of kings, while others have fixed rankings for each type of hand. The highest ranking hand is a royal flush, which includes a 10 (or jack), a queen, a king, and an ace of the same suit in sequence.