Poker is a card game in which each player competes against the dealer. The dealer shuffles the cards, deals them to the players one at a time and then collects the bets from each player to form a central pot.
The game begins with a player making an ante (or blind) bet, the first amount of money that is required to be placed in the pot before any cards are dealt. The players to the left of the dealer then must call, raise or fold, based on the amount of the bet made by the first player.
If no player bets, the dealer then puts a fourth card on the board and again everyone gets a chance to bet/check/raise/fold. If nobody has a hand that beats the highest ranked one, the highest card wins.
A Straight Flush is a five-card hand in which all of the cards are of the same suit. It is usually considered the best natural hand, but can be tied by an Ace high straight flush, called a Royal Flush.
Bet Sizing
Poker is a game of skill that gains in complexity as more and more bets are involved. The decision to bet depends on a variety of factors including previous action, stack depth, the players left in a hand, pot odds and much more.
The ability to calculate the odds of winning a hand is one of the most important aspects of poker, and it can take a long time to master. However, the more you play, the more poker numbers will start to naturally become ingrained in your brain and you will begin to use them with ease.
