The game of Poker is a card game in which players place bets to win a pot. The game has a high degree of chance, but long-term winning strategies are based on probability theory, psychology, and game theory. Players may also bluff in order to convince other players that they have a good hand, or they may try to trap other players into calling their bets with weak hands.
There are a number of variants of the game, but most involve the use of five cards dealt to each player. The highest card wins. Typically, there are four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs), but some games use wild cards or jokers as well.
Before betting begins the dealer cuts the deck. Each player then puts in an ante, which is used to form the pot. When the betting round ends, the player with the best 5-card poker hand wins.
After the initial betting round is over the dealer deals three more cards face up on the table that everyone can use – these are called the community cards. Alex has a pair of kings off the deal, which isn’t bad, but not great either. He checks and the person to his left raises a bet.
If he wants to add more money to the pot, Alex must say “call,” which means that he will match the amount of the last bet and put additional chips into the pot. Alternatively, he can say “fold,” which means that he will not raise his bet.