Poker is a game where players make their best hand with the cards they are dealt. Depending on the rules, one or more players are required to place an initial amount of money into the pot before cards are dealt, these are called forced bets (ante or blind). The dealer then shuffles and deals each player a number of cards (determined by the game) which they may then choose to keep hidden. Once all of the cards have been dealt, a betting round begins, led by the player to the left of the dealer.

As the last player to act, you can control how the pot is priced – either by raising when you have a strong value hand, or by calling when you have a weak draw. However, you should always have a reason for your turn actions – you should never raise just to see what your opponents are doing!

The strongest hand is a Royal Flush which consists of a 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of all suits in consecutive order. A Straight contains five consecutive cards of the same suit (but not in the same sequence), a Full House has three cards of the same rank, two unmatched side cards, and a Pair has two matching cards of any rank. If no one has any of these hands, the highest remaining card wins the pot. In rare occasions, an ace can win the entire pot by itself!