Poker is a card game of chance that is played with chips representing money. It is a fast-paced game that involves betting between players and winning the pot (all the bets made during one hand) by having a high ranked card combination in your hand when it is shown to the other players. Poker is a popular game worldwide in casinos, private games, home games, and on the Internet. It has been referred to as the national card game of the United States and its play and jargon are part of American culture.
A typical poker game begins with several shuffles of the deck. Then each player receives two cards face down, known as their hole cards, and one card face up. There are then one or more betting intervals, depending on the rules of the game being played. A player must bet at least an amount established as the minimum bet, called an ante, blind, or bring-in, in each betting interval.
In some variations of poker, a player can choose to check (pass on betting) or raise the bet by adding more chips to the pot that their opponents must match. A poker player can also fold his hand if he has no high card hand. If more than one player has a high card hand, the highest wins the tie. High card hands include two distinct pairs, three of a kind, a flush, and a straight. The highest pair breaks ties.