Poker is a card game in which players wager against one another. The player with the highest ranked hand wins the pot, which is all of the money bet during that particular betting round. The game is played in many ways, including at home, in private clubs, at casinos, and over the Internet. It is considered the national card game of the United States, and its play and jargon permeate American culture.
A standard deck of 52 cards is used (although some games may use multiple packs or add extra cards called jokers). Cards are ranked from high to low as follows: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
The first person to act during a hand of poker places chips into the pot (called an “ante”). When it’s your turn, you must either call the bet made by the player to your left, raise it, or fold your hand. The person to your left then does the same if you decide to fold.
If you raise a bet, the next player to act must match it or raise it even more. This is known as the “equalization method.” If you’re the last player to act and win the showdown, you can make your winning bet equal to your total stake in the pot – in this case 29 less the last raiser’s total stake of 9.
A straight is any 5 cards that rank consecutively but are not from the same suit. A flush is a pair of matching cards (in this case, three fives) plus two other unmatched cards. And a full house is any three matching cards of the same rank, plus two other unmatched cards.
