Poker is a card game where players place bets into a pot in the middle of the table. The highest hand wins the pot. Bets can be made by anyone at the table, including the dealer. The game is fast paced and you need to be able to read the other players and use your bluffing skills to your advantage. It’s a lot of fun and there are four types of players; the tourist, the amateur, the money hugger, and the pro.

Each player starts by putting in some chips (amounts vary by game). Then the betting interval begins. When it comes to your turn to bet, you can “call” (put in the same amount as the previous player), raise (put in more than the previous player), or drop (“fold”). If you fold, you lose all your chips that you have put into the pot.

Cards are dealt from a standard 53-card pack, with the joker (also known as the bug) counting only as a wild card in certain hands. The best hand is a royal flush, which is five consecutive cards of the same suit. A straight is five consecutive cards of the same rank, but from different suits. Three of a kind is three matching cards, and a pair is two cards of the same rank. If two players have the same pairs, they tie. The rank of the fifth card in the hand determines which hand wins.