Poker is a family of card games in which players bet against each other based on the value of their hand. A variety of betting structures are used, including no-limit and pot-limit.
A complete hand is dealt to each player, and betting takes place in a single round. The highest hand wins the pot, unless two or more identical hands tie.
The cards are dealt clockwise around the table, one at a time. In a casino, the dealer deals each hand; in casual play, the right to deal rotates among the players.
Each player receives two cards, and the first player to act (fold, call the small blind, or raise) is the player to the left of the big blind.
Next, the dealer burns one card from the top of the deck and then deals the first three community cards faceup to the table. The player to his left is then the first to act in each succeeding round by folding, checking, or making a bet.
Standard poker hands rank according to their odds; the lowest possible hand is 7-5-4-3-2 in two or more suits, and a straight flush beats any other hand. Ties are broken by the best unmatched card or secondary pair.
The optimal play depends on a variety of factors, including the opponent’s cards and his or her reaction to your earlier decisions as well as your opponents betting pattern. However, the optimal play is rarely the correct decision in every situation.