Poker is a family of card games in which players compete to create the best hand possible, according to the rules of the specific game. The number of cards in a deck, the order of cards dealt, the number of rounds of betting and the manner of dealing the cards all vary among different variants of the game, but they all share certain essential features.
First of all, each player receives one face down card (called a hole card) and one face up card, after which the dealer shuffles the cards. The deal is interrupted for a betting interval, which may last several rounds.
Next, each player to the left makes a bet of at least as many chips as any preceding player. If they do so, the next player to the left must either “call” the bet by putting into the pot the same amount of chips as the previous player or “raise,” which means putting in more than enough chips to call.
In contrast, if a player chooses to “drop” or “fold,” they put no chips into the pot and discard their hand. However, if they still have enough chips to make another bet, they can continue to play in the same way.
Some people are known to use various tactics in the game, some of which are not very good etiquette and can be dangerous. Examples include hiding their high-value chips, counting them and moving them closer to the middle of the table, and pretending they are going to call.
