How to Play Poker

Poker is a game of skill where players try to make the best hand out of five cards. The player with the best hand wins the pot.

To play poker, the player buys chips in the same amount as the other players. The dealer will then deal out cards to each of the players. The dealer may also pass out all the cards at once. The dealer button is typically a white plastic disk.

Once the cards are dealt, the players must decide how to bet. One option is to raise, which means that each player must place more chips in the pot than the previous player. Another option is to fold. The player who folds forfeits his rights to the original pot.

If there is a tie, a high card is used to break the tie. If multiple people have the same high card, a tie is broken by the highest unmatched card. If no one has the highest card, a tie is broken by the second highest unmatched card.

The highest possible poker hand is 5 of a kind with a wild card. In some games, the joker is included as a fifth wild card. It counts as any suit for a flush or straight, but not as an ace. The hand with the lowest possible combination is 6-4-3-2A.

The dealer will cut the cards and shuffle the pack. The player receiving the jack becomes the first dealer.