Poker is a card game that involves betting. There is a certain amount of skill involved, especially when playing with people that know how to play well. However, the game relies on chance more than anything else. If you want to learn more about poker we recommend getting a book on the game or joining a group that plays regularly.
To start the game each player places an amount of chips into a pot in the middle of the table (called an ante). Each player then gets dealt cards. Players then bet into the pot during the betting interval (which is determined by the particular variant of poker). When betting comes around to you, you can choose to call or raise the previous player’s bet. If you choose to continue betting, you must raise the ante when it comes around to you again.
The dealer deals three cards face up on the board that anyone can use (called the flop). If you have one of these pairs or better, you win the hand. If you don’t have a pair or better, the highest card breaks the tie.
If you hold pocket 7’s and the flop is 7-6-2, you have the nuts. This is the best possible hand at that moment. However, if the turn card is an 8 and the river is a 7, you have lost your chance to win. This is because a straight will beat your three of a kind.