Poker is a card game with many nuances. Players can mislead each other about the strength of their hands, and they can make bluffs that may backfire or win them huge amounts of money. As a result, it offers a rich mosaic of strategies and psychological nuances that can provide intriguing metaphors for creative writing.
A tournament is an event at a store, convention, or other location where multiple players bring a squad/deck/army/fleet of their favorite game and compete against each other for the chance to win cool prizes. It is typically run by an organizer who will specify a structure for the tournament. This structure specifies how many rounds of the tournament should be used and sets a time limit for players to complete their games.
Each player starts with 2 cards, which are hidden from the other players (called a hole or pocket). A betting phase begins with the player to the left of the big blind. A few minutes later, 3 cards are dealt face-up (revealed to all players) in the center of the table, called the flop. Players then reveal their hand, and the player with the best 5-card hand wins the pot.
Poker has roots in a variety of earlier vying games, including Grizeldo, Flux & Trente-un (French, 17th – 18th centuries), Post & Pair (English and American, 18th century), Brag (18th – 19th century), Brelan, and Bouillotte (19th century to present). These older games are not as relevant for understanding the emergence of poker.