The Basics of Poker

Poker is a card game where players bet on the strength of their hand. It requires both luck and skill to win. There are many different variations of this game, but they all have the same basic rules. Players play against each other and the dealer. The goal is to make the best five-card hand at the end of the game.

In most poker games, a player may only bet once during each round of betting. The turn to bet passes from player to player in clockwise rotation. During the game, any player may request the dealer to shuffle the cards. Players may also swap out cards for replacements if they wish.

A pair is two cards of the same rank, three of a kind is 3 matching cards, a straight is 5 consecutive cards in one suit, and a flush is 5 cards of the same suit. A full house is three matching cards of a rank and two matching cards of another rank, and a four of a kind is four cards of the same rank.

Most poker games are played with chips instead of cash, which have different values. Each color of chip represents a different dollar amount. The dealer assigns these values prior to the start of the game and exchanges cash from players for the chips. This makes the game more tense and exciting, as the chips are harder to lose than actual money.