Poker is a card game played with a standard deck of 52 cards. It is a game of chance and skill, with players placing bets on who has the best hand. The game can be played in casinos, at home or in community card rooms.
Rules vary depending on the type of poker you play. In most games, the highest hand wins half of the pot, and the lowest hand wins the other half. In hi-low poker, the highest hand wins both parts of the pot unless there are no qualifying low hands.
During the deal, each player receives one card facedown (his hole card) and one card faceup. There are then three rounds of dealing, each distributing one card faceup to each active player. There is a betting interval after each round.
In each betting interval, the first bettor is the player with the highest-ranking poker combination in his faceup cards. If two or more players have the same combinations, the “first” one (nearest the dealer’s left) bets first; he must at least match the amount of the previous player’s bet.
All-in is a bet that a player makes in which they push all of their chips into the pot to win the entire pot. This is a good strategy to use when a player has a big stack and is facing short-stacked opponents. Taking this approach will protect your big stack as you move toward the middle stages of the tournament.