The Basics of Poker

Poker is a card game in which players place bets on the strength of their hands. It can be played socially for pennies, or professionally for thousands of dollars. It combines elements of chance with the ability to read opponents and to keep a cool head during high-stakes situations.

Poker has a history that dates back to the sixteenth century, when Germans played a game called Pochen. By the 1830s, it had developed into a betting game in which a player could choose to draw cards from the bottom of a stack to improve his or her hand. A variation known as Stud Poker appeared around the same time, and it became a popular game on riverboats traveling down the Mississippi.

Each player puts into the pot a number of chips equal to the minimum ante or bet, or more if he wishes. If a player does not wish to bet, he may “check,” provided that no one before him in that betting interval has raised the bet. If another player raises the bet, the player may call it with any amount of chips, or he may drop out of the hand by putting no chips into the pot at all.

The cards used in Poker are standard 53-card packs, including the joker (called a bug here), which counts only as the fifth ace or to complete a flush, a straight, or certain special hands. In addition, some poker games use a stripped deck, in which all deuces (2s) are wild and one-eyes (1s) are designated as wild cards.