Poker is a card game in which players make wagers. They begin by anteing (the amount of the ante varies from game to game). Each player bets into the center of the pot and the player with the best hand wins. In most variations, betting is done clockwise. During betting, players can either raise their initial bet or fold.
Poker can be played with any number of players, though six to eight players is the optimal number. The pot is the total of all the bets made by all the players during one round. A player wins the pot when they have the highest hand, or if they make a bet that no one else calls.
A hand with five cards of the same rank is a pair. If two or more players have a pair of fours, the pair with the higher card wins. In a tie, the high card is used to break the tie. The lowest pair is a pair of aces. Typically, the highest pair wins.
Then, each player discards three cards. A player with a pair of aces has three aces, while a player with a pair of kings does not have aces. If they aren’t able to win, the player is out of the pot. This is also true of the side pots. If everyone else folds, the remaining players may make bets on the flop.