The game of Poker is played in a number of different structures. The three most common poker structures are pot-limit, no-limit, and fixed-limit. Fixed-limit poker involves standardised betting amounts. In fixed-limit games, the initial bettor may bet only X, and the next player to act must also bet X. In pot-limit games, each player may bet up to the size of the pot. Each bet is added together to create a new stake, and the raiser may raise the previous bet by the full amount of the pot.

In a standard poker game, all players make bets. The money that each player contributes to the pot is called the pot. At the end of the game, winnings from all the rounds are collected in a central pot. In addition to the betting rounds, poker is also played in multiple variations. Poker variants differ in how betting intervals work. In one type, the first bet is the ante. In another variation, the ante and blinds are the only two types of bets that are made.

While the name poker likely derives from the Frenchpoque or Germanpochen, it is unclear which of these games is the original version. The game’s resemblance to the Persian game as nas suggests that it was taught to French settlers in New Orleans. Some historians consider the game to have Renaissance roots, and also shares ancestry with the French primero and brelan. In addition to having Renaissance roots, poker is clearly related to the English game brag, which incorporates bluffing.