Poker is a card game in which players wager on the strength of their hand. It is played with a standard deck of cards and is played worldwide.
The rules of poker vary according to the game, but all involve rounds of betting. The player with the best hand wins all the money in the pot.
Play begins with a dealer, usually one person who deals the cards and shuffles the deck. Sometimes a non-player is designated as the dealer for the whole game, but this does not alter the rules of the game.
Cards: The standard poker deck contains 52 cards, ranked (from high to low) as Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and a wild card. All hands contain five cards and the highest hand wins.
Royal flush: The highest possible hand includes a 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of the same suit (clubs, diamonds, hearts or spades). This hand is not beaten by any other hand, but it can be tied with a straight flush and a five-of-a-kind.
Straight: The highest standard poker hand is a straight, which contains 5 consecutive cards of the same suit. Ties are broken by the best unmatched cards or secondary pairs.
Check: In some versions of poker, a player can “check” the pot, which means that they do not want to bet any more money. When another player raises, however, they must call or fold their hand.