Poker is a game of skill and chance. It is played by a variety of players, usually with poker chips. Players’ hands are made up of five cards, each ranked from Ace to ace. The highest hand wins the pot.

Players must have a minimum amount of money to play, which varies depending on the game. Players can also win by bluffing. However, they cannot place more than the maximum limit in a fixed-limit game.

Cards are dealt face up or face down. In a draw game, each player has the right to call or raise. The ante is typically the minimum amount of money required to bet.

If more than one player has a pair of aces, the higher card will win. The lowest hand is 6-4-3-2-A. There are some variants that use multiple decks of cards. Some poker games specify whether wild cards are allowed.

Most standard poker games use the standard poker hand ranking system. However, some games, such as Stud Poker, use different card dealing styles. These are described later in this chapter.

Before the game begins, the dealer assigns values to the chips. Chips are often blue, red or white in color, and they are usually worth a certain amount of money. A low-value chip is usually the white one. Usually, the value of the blue chip is worth between 10 and 25 whites.

The cards are then cut by the dealer. The player receiving the jack becomes the first dealer. The dealer then shuffles the cards. He then offers the shuffled deck to the next player for a cut.