Before a player can play poker, he or she must place a minimum ante. An ante is equal to the minimum amount of cash or chips that a player will put in the pot. An all-in call, in which a player pushes all of his or her chips into the pot, is called an all-in call. There is a variation of the ante known as the “big blind,” which is based on the stakes of the game, but is generally equal to the minimum bet.

The object of poker is to win the pot, the total of all the bets placed during a hand. The goal is to have the highest hand possible or to persuade opponents to fold. The money won from a hand is just as important as the money that was saved. A good poker strategy includes knowing when to release a hand when the odds are in your favor. A high hand in poker is the highest combination of five cards.

The origin of poker games is not entirely certain. Poker likely has a number of roots in English and French versions of games. Many publications cite the Mississippi River as the source of most poker games. However, this doesn’t mean that poker is a native American activity. Despite its historical development, poker’s name is derived from the French game poque. A more recent version of the game is called Texas Hold’em. Texas Hold’em was first introduced in the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas in 1960, and then took the world by storm, and eventually eclipsed all other versions.