Poker is a card game played between two or more players for an amount of money, called the pot. There are many variants of the game, but they all have a few key elements in common. These include the rules of bluffing and betting. Some games also have specific betting structures, like no-limit or pot-limit. Here’s a look at the rules of some of the most popular poker games.
The word poker has a long and varied history. The earliest reference to it appears in an 1845 edition of Hoyle’s Games, where it is described as a game of bluffing. However, it is unlikely that this was the earliest known form of the game, since bluffing as a strategy has existed for centuries.
While there are countless variations, poker is generally played with a standard deck of cards and chips that represent a player’s stake in the game. The chips are usually white, with other colors used for different values. For example, a white chip may be worth one unit or ante, while a red chip is worth five units or bets. Players usually “buy in” for a fixed amount of chips when they enter a tournament, and then compete for the total value of all remaining chips in the pot.
Some poker players may add to the basic game with house rules or specialized chips, but these should always be agreed upon and written down before the start of a game. It is also common for a poker game to have a special fund, called the kitty, that is used to pay for things such as new decks of cards and food and drinks.