The game of poker is played with different number of players. The ideal number of players is between six and eight players. A player can win the game by winning the pot, which is the sum of all bets made by all players in one deal. The highest hand in the game wins the pot, while the player with the lowest hand loses the pot if no other player calls his bet. There are different poker strategies that can be used to win the game.
In the beginning of the game, the initial dealer must be chosen from the shuffled deck. He should pick the highest card to become the initial dealer. Repeated dealing breaks ties, but this is not always feasible. The initial dealer shuffles and cuts the deck, and advances the steps of the game. This process is repeated if the first dealer is eliminated by someone else. The game is played until only one player has the highest five-card combination.
To begin the game, any player who is to the left of the big blind places a bet. This player may check his hand, make a raise, or fold. The dealer has the right to shuffle the cards, but must offer the shuffled pack to the next player to act as the small blind. In this way, a player may make a bet in a situation similar to the rock situation. While folding is the opposite of a rock, checking is the opposite of an overplay.