Whether you are a professional poker player or just playing at a poker table, you know that your best bet is to play the best hand possible. Your goal is to win the most amount of money by having the highest-ranking hand possible.

To start, each player is dealt seven cards. The first player is designated the dealer. The dealer shuffles the deck and then passes the deck to the next player.

Each player is then able to discard one, two, or three cards from their hand. The highest-ranking card wins the pot.

If you have a pair, you may also “check” or decline to fold. When a player checks, they do not have to make a bet, but may raise the bet made by another player.

The next player is required to “raise” or put in the same number of chips that the last player placed in the pot. The last player to “drop” or decline to fold is the player who is left to the left of the first player.

The last betting interval is called a “showdown”. The winner of the pot is the player with the highest-ranking poker hand. If there is a tie, the pot is split.

Some games include wild cards. These are cards that can take any suit. They are used to break ties. These cards are often added to the standard 52-card pack. These cards are ranked from Ace high to Ace low.