Basically, poker is a card game in which players make a hand of five cards. The goal is to create the best hand possible, while avoiding losing money. Poker games can be played with any number of players, from two to eight or nine.
All poker games involve one or more rounds of betting. The bets are gathered into a pot. The player with the highest hand wins the pot. If the pot is split, different players win different portions of the pot.
The game is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. The number of cards dealt in each round varies, depending on the game. Some poker variants allow players to take new cards from the top of the deck.
After all the cards have been dealt, the players are allowed to show their hands. If there are ties, the highest card breaks the tie. The highest two cards are considered a pair.
There are ten basic ways to win a poker hand. A flush is a five card hand of the same suit, in any order. A “backdoor flush” is achieved by hitting needed cards on the turn and river.
Four of a kind is considered a strong hand. If two four of a kind have the same rank, the higher-rank four of a kind wins. The high card breaks ties when multiple people tie for the highest card.
A straight is a sequence of five cards in sequential order. The lowest hand is 6-4-3-2-A.
