Poker is a card game where players bet without knowing their opponents’ cards. It involves a mixture of chance, psychology and strategy. A hand is made up of two cards dealt to each player, and five community cards are then placed in the middle (“the flop”). The aim is to make the best 5-card poker hand possible using these shared cards. If you’re able to bet strongly enough and force weaker hands to fold, you can win the “pot” (all of the chips that have been bet so far).
A betting interval in poker begins when a player makes a bet, which other players must either call by placing in the pot the same number of chips as the previous player; raise by making more than the previous player’s contribution; or drop (“fold”) by not placing any chips into the pot. Depending on the rules of the poker variant being played, there may be one or more betting intervals per deal.
When a player makes a bet, they must also say what kind of bet they are making. A “call” means that the player is making a bet equal to or higher than the last person’s, and they must place the same number of chips in the pot as that previous player. “Raising” means that the player is making more than the last player’s bet and that the player is attempting to increase their chances of winning by attracting more opponents into the hand.