Poker is a card game with a long history. It has many different variants but all have the same basic elements. It is a game of betting and bluffing where the highest hand wins. It is played around the world by people of all ages and backgrounds. It is a game that can be played with friends, in a bar, or on the internet.
Players make forced bets (called an ante or blind) and are then dealt two cards each. They may then choose to fold or call the bets of other players. The dealer shuffles the cards and then deals each player a set number of cards, face up or face down depending on the variation of poker being played. The first round of betting takes place and then the dealer puts three more community cards on the table that anyone can use, this is called the flop.
Then another betting round takes place. The best five card poker hand wins the pot. If no one has a good hand then whoever called the most bets wins the pot.
The best hands in poker include four of a kind (4 matching cards of the same rank) and straight (5 consecutive cards of the same suit). If two hands tie on the rank of a pair, a flush, or a full house, then the hand with the higher high card breaks the tie. If the hands are equal in rank then the highest card outside the winning hand breaks the tie.