How to Play Poker

Typically, poker involves a deck of cards, which have four suits: ace, king, queen, jack. In most variants, some cards are wild. Wild cards can take any suit. The highest hand wins the pot.

Poker is played by a group of people around an oval or circular table. Each player has a standard pack of cards containing 52 cards. The cards are shuffled before being dealt. Players may either deal the cards face-up or face-down.

After the initial deal, players can begin betting in a clockwise rotation. The first player to make a bet is called the “first player.” This player is also called the “active player”. In some games, each player must place a certain amount of chips into the pot before he can make a bet.

The players are then dealt one card at a time. They are then allowed to replace a card or shuffle the deck. The player with the highest card is the initial dealer. The player with the next highest card is the second dealer.

All poker games involve at least one round of betting. This betting interval is typically called the “showdown.” The player with the best hand wins the pot.

When there are ties, the high card breaks the tie. When two four of a kind have the same rank, the high card outside the pair wins the tie. When two four of a kinds have the same rank and neither of them has a pair, the high card outside the pair wins the pot.