In poker, the highest hand wins when two players have matching high pairs. In addition, a flush is achieved when five cards are in a row with no ties. A straight is a five-card sequence of one rank, or more than one suit. High-card hands, such as the royal flush, are the most desirable, beating all other hand types, but they aren’t necessary to win a hand. If two players have the same high-card combination, the highest card in both hands is the winner.

To start, each player must place an ante, into the pot. Each player is dealt five cards, or cards. A good starting hand is Ks-Kd-Jd-5c-3d, but a pair of kings isn’t bad either. After the initial deal, betting begins. If a player does not win a hand, the pot is split between all the players equally. If no player has a high hand, a pair of kings can win the pot.

The game of poker has a rich history, but its origins are apocryphal. The earliest form of poker in European history was probably a French game called poque. From there, it morphed into German pochen, which eventually became primero. In North America, the game was brought by French settlers. It’s unclear which country first introduced poker to North America, but the French were among the first to bring it there.