In a game of poker, a player makes a bet, which may be equal to or greater than the original bet. Each player then must either raise or fold the remaining chips on their table. At the end of each betting interval, the hole cards are revealed. The highest ranking hand wins the pot and all bets. The game is played on a board. Several different types of poker are played. There are many variations of the game, and the rules of the game differ from one variant to another.

When more than one player remains, the game moves to a showdown. The players then reveal their hidden cards and evaluate their hands. The player with the highest-ranking hand wins the pot. The rules of poker hand rankings are fairly straightforward: a poker hand consists of five cards, and it is important to remember that the best five-card combination wins the game. The best possible five-card combination is a straight flush, a flush, or four of a kind.

In some games, the dealer is not a player but is a token that rotates from hand to hand. Each player is given a set number of cards in the beginning. The dealer is the nominal dealer. The first hand is dealt face-up. Each player may check or raise their bets. The dealer then discards one card and deals three community cards face up. The small blind is the player to the left of the dealer and acts first in every round.