Poker is a family of card games that can be played worldwide. The games differ in their rules but all involve a round of betting. The winning hand is determined by the player who makes the best combination of cards.

The basic hands in poker are: high cards, pair of cards, two pairs, three of a kind and a straight. A straight is a five-card sequence in consecutive order, including an Ace-King or a King-Queen.

There are several other hands in the game as well, such as a flush or a full house. A full house is made up of three of a kind and a pair, while a flush is a sequence of five cards in consecutive order, except for an Ace-Queen.

Bluffing in Poker

The term bluffing refers to making false claims or statements about the strength of one’s hand. A bluff can be made either by being the first to make a bet, raising or calling (matching) a bet, or folding.

In most poker variants, a betting interval begins after each hand is dealt. In each betting interval, a player must place in the pot the number of chips (representing money) required to make his total contribution at least equal to that of the player before him.

If no players call or match the bet, the hand ends immediately, and the bettor collects the pot. If more than one player remains in the betting interval, a showdown takes place. During the showdown, the cards are shown to all of the remaining players.