The Basics of Poker

Poker is a card game played with a standard deck of 52 cards. It was introduced during the American Civil War. Several variant games have been developed, including split-pot and lowball. In some games, a wild card is used.

Each player is dealt five cards. The first player makes the first bet. After the first betting interval, the second player can raise or call. If nobody raises, the first bettor must fold.

If all players have a pair, the player with the highest pair wins the pot. The lowest pair is the aces. If a player has two pairs, he may bluff by calling and making a bet that he has the best hand.

A flush is a set of consecutive cards from the same suit. When two players have a flush, the highest card in the flush is the winner. In a straight, all of the cards in the same suit are used to win. A full house is a hand with three of a kind and a pair.

A straight is a straight of five cards in the same suit. When two players have ties, the high card breaks the ties. A kicker is the highest card remaining in the deck in a high card hand. When a poker player has a pair of kings, he is not good off the deal.

A straight of three kings beats a straight of four of a kind. However, a higher rank four of a kind beats a straight of three kings.