Poker is a card game in which players try to make the best possible hand. A poker hand is a combination of five cards. The best hand is the Royal Flush. It contains the cards ten, jack, queen, king and ace.

To play, each player must place a bet. They can either fold, check, raise or call. Players can also bluff, which is an attempt to convince other players to fold.

Before the game starts, the dealer assigns a value to the chips. Chips are generally white, red or green. Depending on the rules of the particular game, players may have to post big blinds or small blinds.

Cards are then distributed to each player. Face-up cards are dealt first. This is followed by a betting interval. During a betting interval, all but one player folds. Afterwards, a showdown occurs.

In the initial betting interval, the first player is required to bet the minimum. Other players must follow suit, raising their bet if they match.

Cards are then distributed clockwise around the table. After the fourth round of betting, the hole cards are shown. Until the jack is revealed, the dealer pitches the cards to left.

In some poker variants, cards are shuffled and dealt face up. There are also variants where the dealer passes out all of the cards at once. Typically, stud and draw poker are played with a limit of twice the amount of the final bet.