Poker is a gambling game in which players bet into a pot in hopes of winning the prize. Players are dealt two cards each, face up, and must use the two cards they are holding to try to beat the other players. The highest hand wins the pot.

Players may choose to fold, check, or raise. To make a bet, a player must put a specified number of chips into the pot. Some games have different betting structures, with a larger maximum bet.

The highest poker hand is called a straight, and is comprised of five cards in sequential order. A pair is a two-card hand with the same suit.

A straight is only possible if both players have a pair, but can be achieved with more than one five-card hand. When two players have a straight, the higher card wins.

In some variants, a Wild Card is included in the deck. These are cards that take any suit. They are shuffled into the deck and can be used to break ties.

Poker is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. Cards are ranked from Ace high to Ace low. Each hand is a combination of two cards from the pack, a pair, and one or more Wild Cards.

To begin, a player posts a small blind and a big blind. Once the dealer shuffles, the first card is “burned” off of the top of the deck. Several rounds of dealing occur. During the deal phase, a dealer button is placed at the left-hand side of the table. This indicates which player is in the starting position.