Poker is a card game in which players place bets into a common pot. Each player starts with two personal cards, known as hole cards, and then five community cards are revealed in stages (three additional shared cards called the flop, a single card called the turn, and a final single card called the river).
The highest hand wins the pot. When betting begins, each player must ante a small amount of money (the amount varies by game, our games use a nickel). Players then bet into the pot according to the strength of their hands.
Strong hands are ones that can beat other strong hands. They include three of a kind, straight, or flush. Three of a kind is three cards of one rank, straight is five cards that skip around in rank but are all from the same suit, and flush is four cards of the same rank.
Players can also improve their hands by bluffing. However, players must weigh their risks and rewards carefully as even a good bluff can backfire in poker and in life.
A key concept to remember in poker is that risk can yield a huge reward if it pays off. Trying to play it safe can make the game very boring and results in missing opportunities where a moderate level of risk would produce a large profit. This applies to many areas of life, such as a job interview where confidence can get you through ahead of someone with a stronger CV.