The game of poker is played with a standard 52-card deck plus one or more jokers (depending on the game). The cards are ranked in ascending order from highest to lowest: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Each player competes to have the highest card hand at the end of each deal. Some games allow for wild cards that can take the rank of any other card in the hand (dueces, one-eyed jacks, etc). The highest hand wins the pot, or the aggregate of all bets made by players in a single deal.
Players begin each hand by “buying in,” or placing a minimum amount of money into the betting pool, called the pot. This amount is usually paid in chips and is determined by the number of players.
A player may raise the amount of his stake at any point in a hand. He must match the amount raised by the player to his left and may also raise it further. If he does not wish to continue his hand, he must fold and leave the table.
In addition to raising and folding, a good poker player will often bet in order to force weaker hands out of the game. To make this decision, a player must analyze the cards that have been revealed so far and estimate the probability that a particular outcome will occur. This is a fundamental skill of decision making under uncertainty, whether in poker or in other areas of life.