Poker is a card game that involves betting between players and is played with a standard 52-card English deck. The game was developed in the 19th century and is one of the most popular card games in the world.
Each player acts in turn, beginning with the player to his or her immediate left. The player may call the bet, raise it, or drop out (fold). A player who calls a bet must place into the pot a number of chips equal to that of the last raiser in order to stay active in the hand; if he or she cannot make up this amount, he must fold.
Depending on the rules of a particular game, a player may also place an initial amount into the pot before the cards are dealt; these are called antes, blinds, or bring-ins. Some players may choose to bluff, putting a large bet in spite of having no good hand. The other players can then choose to call the bet, raise it, or decline to participate in the hand altogether.
As the game continues, a player who has the best hand shows it by turning his or her cards face up. If no one has a better hand, then the remaining cards are revealed and any winnings are distributed accordingly. Ties are broken by the highest unmatched cards or secondary pairs (a pair of jacks, for example). There are many variants of Poker. Some, like Draw Poker and Stud Poker, require that the player show all of his or her cards at the end.