Poker is a card game in which players independently attempt to assemble a hand of cards of the highest value, traditionally to win cash or poker chips. It may be played with any number of people, but there are generally several players at a table, and each player has a fixed amount of money that they can invest in the pot (the sum of all bets made in a single deal).
When a player makes a bet, the other players must choose to either “call” by putting into the pot the same amount of chips as the bet, or raise the bet. If a player does not call or raise, they must “drop” and discard their hand. The player who has the best five-card hand wins the pot.
Typical poker hands include one pair (two identical cards), two pairs, three of a kind, four of a kind, and flush. If there is a tie for the highest hand, the higher-ranking of two distinct pairs breaks it. If there is a tie for three of a kind, it is broken by the higher rank of the remaining cards in each hand.
The game is played with incomplete information, because the players do not know their opponents’ cards. As the game progresses, there are multiple rounds of betting, and the object is to make the best 5 card poker hand using your own two cards and the five community cards. The best possible hand is a royal flush.
