Poker is a card game in which players compete for the highest hand. In a standard game, the best hand is the one consisting of five cards of the same suit. The highest hand wins the pot. If more than one player has a five-of-a-kind hand, the higher card wins. However, in seven-card stud, only the best five-card hand can win the pot.
Unlike in other games, a player who has a winning hand can walk away with the pot. This is because in every round, all the bets placed by players before him are gathered into the pot. Eventually, one player will win the entire amount of money put down as the buy-in. But there are times when a player must raise his bet in order to stay in the game.
In the game, a player must make an initial bet (called an ante), which varies by game. He then places his bet in the middle of the table. If he has the highest hand, he wins the pot. Poker betting is usually done in clockwise order. A player has three options when betting: fold, raise or bet the same amount as the previous player.
In some variants of the game, blind bets are necessary before each round of dealing. These bets may replace the ante or may even be added to it. Regardless, these bets must be made by the player to the left of the big blind.