The game of poker is a card game in which players place bets on the outcome of a hand. The game is played in tournaments and cash games. Tournaments have fixed buy-in amounts and a set amount of chips that each player must use to make a bet. The game is primarily a bluffing game, and the goal of a player is to extract maximum value from winning hands while minimising losses from losing hands. This is called min-max strategy.
The rules of the game can vary widely depending on the type of poker being played, but most variants involve betting and the showing of hands at the end. A dealer is responsible for shuffling the cards and dealing them to each player. The dealer is usually a non-player, but occasionally players may designate themselves as dealers. The dealer is identified by a special chip passed around the table.
During a betting interval, a player can call a bet by putting chips into the pot equal to or greater than the amount of the bet that the preceding player made. A player can also raise a bet, or “raise.” A player who does not want to put any chips into the pot can simply “drop,” or fold their hand.
When all the players have completed their action, a showdown takes place. The player with the strongest hand wins. During the Showdown, any remaining players reveal their cards and bet again. If no one has a stronger hand than the winner, the remaining players will split the pot.
