Poker is a card game played by two or more players. It involves betting, raising and folding. The highest hand wins the pot. A standard deck of 52 cards is used, although some games use multiple packs or add a few extra cards called wilds (jokers, one-eyed jacks or whatever). The rank of a poker hand is determined in inverse proportion to its mathematical frequency; an unusual combination is higher than a more common one.

Players must place a bet when it is their turn at the beginning of each hand (the amount varies by game, ours is typically a nickel). They can choose to call, raise or fold. They can also bluff, attempting to trick other players into believing that they have a high hand when in fact they do not. This is a risky strategy, but it can pay off.

Sometimes it is not the best poker hand that wins, but the one who has the tenacity to stay in the hand until the end. This is a lesson that applies to life itself.