Poker is a card game of skill and chance. Over time, the application of skill will virtually eliminate luck’s variance from the outcome of any particular hand. In the meantime, Poker players must make decisions on the basis of probability, psychology, and game theory.

Generally, Poker games involve one or more betting intervals. Unless otherwise specified by the rules of a specific Poker variant, the player to the left of the dealer has the privilege or obligation of placing chips into the pot in each betting interval. He must place enough chips into the pot to equal the amount placed in the pot by the player before him.

At the beginning of the game, each player “buys in” for a set number of chips. Typically, each chip has a different color and value. A white chip is worth the minimum ante, a red chip is worth five whites, and a blue chip is worth 10 whites.

In the showdown, the best five-card poker hand wins the entire pot of money that was put down as buy-ins. The players who contributed to the pot may also win additional side pots.

During the course of a game, the players may build up a special fund called a kitty, which is used to pay for new decks of cards and other expenses associated with the Poker game. By unanimous or majority agreement, the players may also “cut” (take) a low-denomination chip from each pot in which there is more than one raise. Any chips remaining in the kitty when the game ends are divided equally among the players who still have poker hands in play.