Poker is a family of card games played throughout the world. It is a competitive game of strategy in which players bet on their hand, according to rules established by the dealer at the beginning of the game.

Variations of the game vary in deck configuration, number of cards in play, and rules of betting. Some are played with a standard 52-card deck; others use shorter packs of cards or may be played with 32, 40, or 48 cards.

Straight: In straight poker each player is dealt five cards facedown and a betting interval occurs. After the first betting interval, each player can discard one or more of his original cards and receive replacements from the undealt portion of the pack (called “standing pat”).

Draw: In draw poker, each active player, in turn beginning at the dealer’s left, draws a hand of up to four cards. After the draw there is another betting interval and a showdown in which the player with the best poker combination wins the pot.

Badugi: In badugi, a game of poker with the same ranking structure as traditional poker, the dealer distributes four cards instead of five. A player must build the best poker hand out of these four cards.

Betting: In some variations of the game, a poker player can “check” the pot if they do not wish to bet any further. If they raise, however, every other player has to call the new raise or fold.