Generally speaking, there are five cards involved in a poker hand. The hands of the players can be broken up into three categories: straight flush, full house, and four of a kind.
The aim of the game is to be the highest ranking hand of cards. If this is achieved, the pot will be won. The pot is a collective sum of all bets made by all players during a single deal. During the final betting interval, a showdown occurs when all the remaining players call or fold.
After the cards are shuffled, each player receives a card face down. This is the first deal. A player who declines to fold (also known as “fold”) is discarded from the game. The pot is then divided equally among the players.
If all the players have folded, the betting phase ends and no one can make a new bet. The player who was the first bettor in the last round must bet the minimum amount in the next round.
If a player raises, he must also call the amount that he has previously bet. He must then show his hand. If no other player calls, he may now be the winner of the pot.
Poker is played worldwide. There are hundreds of variations of the game. Each variant has its own rules. Some variants have a different number of players. Ideally, the game should be played with a group of at least six to eight players.