Poker is a card game in which players place bets against other players. There are a number of different poker variants, but all involve betting on a hand that comprises five cards. The value of a poker hand is in inverse proportion to its mathematical frequency, and bets can be made on the fact that a player has a high-ranking hand or that they are bluffing.

After one or more forced bets are placed (the amount of the bet depends on the game and may include an ante), the dealer shuffles the cards, and then deals them out to the players, starting with the player on their left. The first of what may be several betting rounds then begins, with players able to check, call, or raise.

When the betting is complete, each player may discard cards from their hand and draw new ones from the undealt portion of the deck. This is called the “discard round.”

When a poker hand does not qualify as a pair, three of a kind, four of a kind, straight, flush, or full house, the highest card wins. If two hands tie on rank of pair or three of a kind, they look at the fifth card to break the tie. The same rules apply to the four of a kind; however, in some games, the high card rule is used to break ties for other types of hands as well.