Poker is a card game in which players compete to put together the best five-card hand. The best hand wins the pot, which is a sum of money (usually in chips) that goes to the player who has it. A player’s individual cards are hidden from other players and the only way to know a hand is by revealing it.
Before each hand begins 2 mandatory bets are placed into the pot by the players to the left of the dealer. These bets are called blinds. Once the blinds are in place each player gets 2 cards and then a round of betting takes place. The player to the left of the button can either call the current bet, raise it or push their cards to the dealer face down without saying anything – this is known as folding.
Once the first round of betting is over the dealer deals 3 cards face up on the table that anyone can use – this is called the flop. Then there is another round of betting and then one more card is dealt face up by the dealer – this is the turn.
There are many different types of hands that can be made but a good hand usually consists of 4 of a kind or a straight. The highest hand is the royal flush which consists of a 10 of the same suit (clubs, hearts, diamonds or spades). A full house contains three cards of the same rank and two matching cards of another rank. A straight consists of 5 consecutive cards of the same suit but can be mixed (such as 4 of clubs and a pair of hearts).