Poker is a card game that takes skill and strategy to play. It can be played between two players or many, as in tournaments in Las Vegas. The aim of the game is to make the best five-card hand. The player with the best hand wins all of the chips in the pot. Sometimes there is a tie amongst the best hands, and the pot is shared between the players with those hands.
Each round of the game begins with 2 mandatory bets called blinds being put into the pot by the two players to the left of the dealer. Once these bets are made, players are dealt 2 cards face down (hidden from other players) – these are called the hole cards or pocket cards. There is a betting phase after this, starting with the player to the left of the blinds.
A third card is then dealt face up in the center of the table – these are known as the flop. There is another betting phase, this time starting with the player to the left of the button.
In the final betting phase, players reveal their hands and the winner of the pot is the player with the best 5 card hand. There can be side pots, if players are all-in before the final betting round, but these are separate from the main pot. Side pots can also contain additional bets that are voluntarily placed by players who believe the bet has positive expected value or are trying to bluff other players for various strategic reasons.