Basically, poker is a card game played with a standard pack of 52 cards. The game is played with any number of players, but the ideal number is six to eight.

Each player receives one card face down and one card face up. The player with the highest ranking poker hand wins the pot. Often, players will bluff to win. A bluff is when the player makes a bet without knowing what hand they are holding. The bluff can be in the form of a bet or a ante.

A poker hand is a set of five cards, and may include four of a kind, three of a kind, or two pairs. Two four of a kind with the same rank, or one four of a kind with the same rank and a high card, break ties.

In most poker games, players are required to contribute to the pot before they are dealt the cards. This amount varies by game. Some games divide the pot between the highest and lowest hands, while others award the pot to the lowest hand.

Each player is dealt a hand in the first round. After the first round, a player may choose to make a bet, check, or fold. In some variants, players are allowed to use wild cards to create a five of a kind hand.

Another round of betting occurs after each round of dealing. This is called the betting interval. When the betting interval ends, the cards are shown to the players. This is usually done in clockwise order.