Basically, poker is a game of chance. It involves the use of a deck of cards and chips. The player with the best hand wins the pot. The winner can be the first or the last player to act.

A standard deck of 52 cards is used for the game. The cards are either face up or face down. The dealer deals two or three cards to each player. The player to the left of the dealer acts first. This person is known as the small blind.

The player to the left of the big blind is responsible for making the first bet. This is called a “check”. The player who checks may raise the bet raised by another player. If the check is declined, he or she is called to fold.

The next player, the dealer, will shuffle the pack of cards. The cards are dealt to the players in rotation. The dealer then “burns” a card from the top of the deck.

The first three community cards are dealt face up. Each player is allowed to discard up to three cards. A player can also shuffle his or her own cards.

Each player is required to put in a certain amount of chips. These chips can be blue, red or dark colored. The blue chip is usually the lowest valued chip. A player can also cut from the dealer. These are sometimes called forced bets.

A bet is made by each player in a round. Each bet is limited to the amount of chips that are in the pot. When a player has more than one bet, he or she is called a sandbagger.