Poker is a game of cards where players use skill and chance to determine their winning hands. While there is a significant amount of luck in poker, over the long run it is possible to minimize the role of luck through a combination of proper game theory and psychology.
The players must first make forced bets, often called blind bets, that are placed into a central pot and then the dealer shuffles the cards, cuts them with the player on his chair to his right, and deals each player 2 personal cards, face down. There are often betting rounds between the deals. The players may choose to discard their cards and draw replacements from an undealt portion of the pack, or they may simply hold their cards.
There is one more card dealt face up, the flop, and another round of betting. At this point a players may decide to continue with their hand, fold, or raise. A player can raise only once per round and must raise a minimum of the ante bet.
A player with a high hand wins the pot. A high hand is any 5 card poker hand that beats all other hands. A full house consists of 3 matching cards of 1 rank, a flush contains any five consecutive cards of the same suit (skipping ranks) and a straight has 5 cards of consecutive rank but different suits. A pair is two matching cards of any rank, and a high pair consists of two equal cards.