Poker is a card game of chance and skill. The underlying skill is to minimize losses with poor hands and maximize winnings with good ones. This requires careful consideration of the probability that one will get a specific card, such as a spade, from a deck of 52 cards.
Depending on the rules of the particular poker game, players may have to put an initial amount into the pot before the cards are dealt. This is called an ante. Often, players will also establish a special fund, or kitty, that is used for things like new decks of cards and food. The chips that comprise the kitty are usually low-denomination, and are given to each player by unanimous or majority agreement. If a player leaves the game before it ends, he forfeits his share of any side pots.
After everyone has received their 2 hole cards, there is another round of betting, which is initiated by mandatory bets called blinds that are placed into the pot by the players to the left of the dealer. Players can also choose to “open” their betting by raising the ante (if they have not already done so) or by calling any raises made by other players.
The final betting interval, or “turn,” is when 5 community cards are revealed and the remaining players compete to make the best five-card hand possible. The highest hand is a royal flush, which consists of 5 matching cards of the same rank. A straight is 5 consecutive cards of the same suit, and three of a kind is 3 matching cards of the same rank plus two unmatched cards. A pair is two cards of the same rank, such as a two sixes.