Poker is a card game that can be played with any number of players. The object of the game is to win the “pot,” which is the sum total of all bets made during a hand. A player may win the pot by either having the highest-ranking poker hand or making a bet that no other player calls.
In most forms of poker, there is a round of betting after each player receives their two hidden cards (also called their hole or pocket). After the first betting phase begins, 3 more cards are dealt face up in the center of the table. These are called the flop and they are community cards that all players can use to make their best 5-card hand.
After the flop, there is another round of betting, starting with the player to the left of the big blind. At this point, a player can choose to raise his or her bet or check. A player who checks passes on his turn to act and waits for the next player to bet or raise before acting again.
The key to writing about poker is to be able to describe the players’ reactions, such as when one player calls a high bet on a bad hand while another player reveals a tell (an unconscious habit that gives away information about the strength of their cards). Being able to use these details to paint pictures in the reader’s mind will help keep the story interesting and make the game more realistic.