Poker is a card game for two or more players. The goal is to win the pot, which consists of the total amount of bets made by all players in one round. This can be achieved by holding a high hand, or by bluffing to induce other players into folding their hands.
The game of poker has many variants, but all involve betting rounds and the player who holds the highest hand wins the pot. In addition, each player must place an ante into the pot before being dealt cards. The dealer, who is responsible for shuffling and dealing the cards, may be a player or a non-player. A special chip is used to mark the dealer, and this chip is passed to a new player after each betting round.
Each player is dealt five cards. Once all players have their cards, there is a round of betting that begins with the player to the left of the dealer. Each player may hold any number of cards, and can choose to discard cards or “hold.”
The highest pair is two distinct cards of the same rank. If there is a tie for the highest pair, the higher card breaks the tie. Four of a kind is four cards of the same rank, while a flush is five consecutive cards of the same suit. The high card rules also apply to ties for pairs, three of a kind, and straights.