Poker is a card game that can be played by two to seven players. It is played with a 52-card English deck and two jokers or wild cards (if available).
Playing a hand of poker involves betting and showing one’s cards to see who wins. The player holding the best hand wins the pot, which is the sum of all bets made in that hand.
The game begins with an ante, which is the amount of money the player must invest to be able to play. This is typically a small bet, like $1 or $5.
Once the ante is in place, each player is dealt two cards and must keep them secret from other players. They then decide whether to fold, check, or raise.
There are three cards in each hand, the flop, turn, and river. The flop and turn are dealt face down and the river is dealt face up.
When the board has a duplicate card that greatly devalues your hand, you are called “counterfeited.” In this case, you have two pairs, but now the board has two better pairs.
The rank of standard poker hands is determined by their odds (probability). The highest possible hand is a five-card hand with two pair and a single card that is not part of any pair.
The game is played in a series of rounds, with the first round, dealing of cards, and the final round of betting. In between each round, the players’ hands develop in some way, often by being dealt additional cards or replacing cards previously dealt.