Poker is a card game that involves betting. Players place an ante or blind wager before the cards are dealt. They then look at their hand and decide whether to place a “play” wager (equal to their ante wager) to pit their hand against the dealer or to fold. Optimum strategy says the player should play all hands greater than a queen, six or four and fold any hands worse.
The dealer shuffles the cards and then deals one to each active player, beginning with the seat to his or her left. Each player uses their two personal cards in conjunction with the five community cards to form a five-card poker hand. In the showdown each player reveals his or her hands and the highest poker hand wins the pot.
In addition to bluffing, poker strategy is based upon probability and game theory. Players put money into the pot voluntarily, believing that their bets will have positive expected value or to bluff other players for various reasons. While luck plays a significant role in each hand, the long-run expectations of the players are determined by their actions chosen on the basis of probability, psychology and game theory.
A variety of computer poker players have been developed at universities including the University of Alberta, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Auckland. These players are used by many online poker sites and in some casino gaming establishments. Poker has been called the national card game of the United States and its play and jargon permeate American culture.