The game of poker is played by a group of players sitting around a table, with each player having two cards. The highest five-card hand wins the pot. Players can also bet on the possibility of an opponent’s having a high-ranked hand by raising or “check-raising” their opponents. A good player can use this strategy to force weak hands out of the pot.
Depending on the rules of a particular variant, one or more players will place an initial amount of money into the pot before cards are dealt. This is called the ante. When a player calls a bet, they must put chips into the pot equal to the total contribution of the player who raised them. If a player folds their cards, they must leave the betting circle for that round.
After the antes are placed, each player receives their cards. They then can choose to hit (stay in) or fold (leave the game). If a player wants to stay in the hand, they must say “hit,” and the dealer will deal them another card. If they believe their cards are too low in value, they can say “fold,” which means to throw their cards away.
If a player doesn’t want to call a bet, they can say “raise.” This is a new bet that goes up against the highest previous raise. The other players must either call the raise or fold, though it is polite to check-raise a player who has already raised once before.