Poker is a card game that can be played on the Internet and in casinos. It is a game of chance and skill, with the long-run expected value of a hand determined by actions chosen by each player on the basis of probability, psychology, and game theory. There are hundreds of different versions of the game, and it can be played socially for pennies or professionally for thousands of dollars.
The rules of poker vary slightly depending on the variant being played, but most involve an initial contribution, called the ante, by each player before the cards are dealt. Then, a round or rounds of betting occurs. Players can choose to call, raise or fold. A player who chooses to call a bet can still try to improve their hand by drawing additional cards from the deck, but is also exposed to aggressive opponents who might keep raising their bets.
A Straight consists of five consecutive cards of the same suit, such as (5 6 7 8 9). Two Pair hands consist of two matching cards in different suits. High Card hands consist of the highest ranking single card in the hand.
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