A card game with a rich history, poker has gained widespread popularity early in the 21st century. Online poker and TV coverage have turned it into a spectator sport. It’s important to remember, however, that poker is not just a game of cards; it’s a game of betting and bluffing.
In addition to knowing the basic rules, it’s also helpful to understand how poker ranks hands. A full house contains three matching cards of one rank and two matching cards of another rank. A straight contains five cards in consecutive rank but from more than one suit. A flush contains any five cards of the same suit. A pair contains two cards of the same rank, and a single card of a higher rank than the other.
Before the hand is dealt, players must put in a small amount of money into the pot, called an ante or bring-in. This forces players to compete and can make a strong hand more valuable.
Once the cards are dealt, each player acts in turn. They can call the bet by putting in the same number of chips as the person to their left, raise the bet by putting in more than the previous player, or drop (fold) their hand by discarding it and leaving the table.
If they have a good hand, players often choose to raise the bet in order to force weaker hands out of the pot. In some games, players may also opt to add more than their own bet into the pot by “cutting” a low-denomination chip from a raised bet. This additional contribution, known as a bounty, goes into a pot called the kitty and belongs to all players in the hand. The kitty is used to pay for new decks of cards and food and drinks during the game.