Poker is a card game with betting that involves a significant amount of chance. It is played by two or more players and the object is to win a pot, the sum of all bets made on a single deal.
The game starts when one or more players place forced bets, called blind bets, into the pot. Then the dealer shuffles the cards and deals them to the players, starting with the player to his or her immediate left. Cards are normally dealt face-up, though some games require that they be dealt face-down. At each subsequent betting round, the players may raise or fold their hands. Each bet is placed into the pot, and at the end of each round the highest-ranking hand wins the pot.
A standard poker hand consists of five cards. The rank of a hand is determined by its probability (i.e. the more likely the combination is, the higher the hand rank). There are four suits, spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs; but there are also wild cards, which take on a variety of ranks and can replace any suit in the hand.
A strong poker hand includes two cards of the same rank and three other matching cards, or four of a kind. The highest hand is a royal flush, which includes a jack, queen, king and ace of the same suit. If no one has a superior hand, the players split the pot.