Poker is a card game played by two or more players with a standard 52-card English deck of cards. It can be played with or without jokers (wild cards). Players can also choose to play with one or both the dealer’s cards shuffled together and placed in the middle of the table for all players to see.
The first round of betting in a hand of poker is started by 2 mandatory bets called blinds put into the pot by the player to their left. These are put into the pot before anyone sees their hand and are meant to encourage competition and money exchange between players.
After the first round of betting is complete the dealer deals three cards face up on the table for all to see. These are known as community cards and can be used by all players. Then another round of betting takes place.
After the second round of betting is complete the dealer puts one more card face up on the table for all to see. This is the turn and another round of betting will take place. This is an important time to think about your poker strategy. Knowing how to read the other players can be a huge advantage in this game. Not only does this include subtle physical poker tells like scratching the nose or playing nervously with your chips but it is also looking for patterns in how other players behave. For example if a player is raising all the time then you can assume they are holding some pretty strong hands.
