The entity of online poker is misleadingly simple:
win the money in the pot during a round of play by moreover having the
best poker hand when the wagering is complete or by forcing all other
players out of the hand. The pot includes all money donated during a
hand, including antes, which are used to seed the pot before each hand
begins.
Approximately all poker games use a regular deck of 52 cards, contain
all four suits that each have 13 cards ranking as follows from highest
to lowest: ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Every hand of a poker game is, basically, a self-contained game in
which somebody will be awarded the pot. A new hand is initiated by
the dealer who deals the cards according to the precise poker rules
for that game. Each player in turn, proceeding clock-wise from the
dealer, may moreover bet or check. If a player makes an opening bet,
the next player clockwise has three choices: fold, call or raise.
A fold means that the player does not want to expend more money to
compete for the pot; consequently, he discards his cards and is no
longer a part of the hand. A call means that the player stands in
the hand by betting an amount equal to the current bet. A raise means
that the player augments the current bet. Betting ends when all who
desire to call the highest bet have done so or when all but one player
has dropped out. The poker rules for the specific game may limit the
number of raises allowed. Nevertheless if only two players are in
the pot they can keep raising each other indefinitely.
