Poker Basics
Poker games are generally played with a standard deck of 52 cards. A standard deck consists of of thirteen different ranks of cards, and they are: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Each of these cards comes in four different suits: Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades.
Poker games involve rounds of betting into a common fund, or "pot", and rounds of replacing/receiving cards. The number of betting rounds and card draws depends on the particular variation of the game you are playing. Action proceeds in a clockwise direction.
Generally betting begins with poker players making an "Ante" or a "Blind Bet" (called so because the player bets without having seen their cards).
During the remaining betting rounds, players will take one of the following actions:
Check - if there is not bet already on the table, the player may in essence bet 0, and pass the action on to the next player.
Call - if there is a bet on the table, the player may choose to match the bet.
Bet or Raise - if there were no bets on the table, the player places one by betting . If there was a bet on the table, the player may increase the bet by raising .
Fold - the player does not choose to match the bet on the table, and they forfeit any chance at winning the pot. They also surrender their cards. At the end of the game, the highest hand wins. The rank of each hand will depend upon the variation.
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