Poker is a game of cards played by multiple players against each other. It is a form of gambling, and the rules are based on probability, psychology and game theory. In most poker games, each player begins the hand with a bet in the form of a blind or ante.
The object of the game is to create the best poker hand possible. The highest-ranking hand wins the pot. There are different types of poker hands, but all contain five cards.
A flush is a combination of 5 cards from the same suit (spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs). A full house is made up of 3 matching cards and two unmatched cards, while a pair is made up of 2 matching cards and one unmatched card.
Royal flush is the highest hand and consists of a 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace from the same suit. It can only be beaten by a flush of another suit.
Straight is a combination of 5 cards from the exact same suit and skips around in rank or sequence; it can be tied with a straight from a different suit but not beaten.
Three of a kind is made up of three matching cards and one unmatched card, and it can be beaten by only two different hands. A flush is a combination of five consecutive cards from the same suit, and it can be beaten by only one other hand.
Four of a kind is made up of 4 cards of the same rank and one unmatched card, and it can only be beaten by a straight from a different suit.
Five of a kind is made up of 5 cards of the same suit and a fifth card of any rank. It can be beaten by only four different hands.
There are many forms of poker, each with its own set of rules and strategies. Most poker games are played with a standard 52-card deck, and some have jokers as wild cards that can take on any suit and rank. Some games have a fixed limit on the amount that can be raised or bet. This is called pot limit.