Poker is a card game where players wager money into the pot based on the strength of their hand. It is one of the few games where skill can virtually eliminate luck from the result. The game can be played with as few as seven players and is typically played for money. Most games start with a “buy in” where each player puts in a fixed amount of chips into the pot before dealing cards. The highest hand wins the pot. Players can bet on their hand in different ways: they can raise, call or fold.
A standard deck of 52 cards is used for the game, although some variations use more or less than that. The cards are ranked (high to low): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4 and 3. The game may also have Wild Cards that can take any suit and rank, or specific wild cards such as dueces or one-eyed jacks.
The game is played in betting intervals. A player can raise a bet or check provided that no one has raised before them in that betting interval. If a player checks, they must call or drop if someone else raises the bet in their next betting interval.
The rules of Poker are largely determined by the house rules of each club or group of players. It is not unusual for a group of experienced players to develop their own set of rules which are not incorporated into the official rules. This is called a “house rule” and it is permissible in most cases.