Poker is a card game played on a table. Players begin the game by placing an ante into the pot. Then, all but one player folds, and the remaining player collects the pot without showing his hand. If there are more players in the pot, the last round of betting is called a “showdown,” during which all players reveal their hands. The player with the highest-ranking poker hand wins the pot.

The game has several different rules. The lowest hand is a five-card combination of two different suits. In some games, an ace is considered the lowest card. If a hand has more than two five-card pairs, the higher card wins. There are also different rules for high-card hands. For example, if two players have the same pair of cards, their hands can still be considered “high.”

The best hand is known as the “nuts,” or the best possible hand at a given time. A pair of sevens, for example, would be the best hand. Any other pair would be a “straight” if it was the same suit as the first two cards. A gutshot is half as likely to hit as an open-ended straight.

Today, there are over 100 million people who play poker on the internet. Approximately 60 million of them are in the United States. The popularity of the game continues to increase.