Poker is a card game with millions of fans. The underlying skill in the game is to minimize losses with bad hands and maximize winnings with good ones. The best players mix up their style, betting and bluffing to keep opponents guessing what they have in their hand. They also use the five elements of plot conflict: conflict, suspense, surprise, tension and resolution.
The game starts with players putting in some money into the pot before the cards are dealt, called ante or blind bets. These bets help generate a pot to win and are mandatory for every player. Some games allow a player to take up more than one raise, called all-in. If a player is all-in, they are not eligible to win any pots that are raised by other players. The main pot is won by the best hand at the showdown.
When the flop is revealed, there’s another round of betting. If you hold pocket 7’s and the flop is 7-6-2, you have the nuts. If the turn is a 5, you no longer have the best hand and the honor goes to anyone who has 8-9 in their hand.
If there’s a caller in the last round of betting, there will be a side pot, which is separate from the main pot. Any chips in the side pot belong to that player and are only eligible to be won by the player who contributed those chips. The rest of the money in the main pot belongs to all remaining players equally.