The game of poker is a card game in which players compete to make the best five-card hand possible. Each player puts in a forced bet (the ante or blind), after which the dealer shuffles the cards and deals them out to the players one at a time, beginning with the person to their left. The cards may be dealt face-up or down, depending on the variant of poker being played. During each round of betting, any bets placed are collected into a central pot.
The basic goal is to create a high-value hand, but bluffing is also important for success in poker. A common mistake is to assume that folding a bad hand is a losing move; however, many times it is the correct play for both you and the other players at the table.
While there is a significant amount of luck involved in the outcome of any individual hand, the long-term expectations of players are determined by their actions chosen on the basis of probability, psychology and game theory. Consequently, it is important to practice and watch experienced players to develop quick instincts.
The earliest contemporary reference to the game of poker is credited to General Schenck, an American ambassador to Britain, who entertained his British friends with it during a weekend country retreat in 1872. Other early references are found in the published reminiscences of Jonathan H. Green in his Dragoon Campaigns to the Rocky Mountains (1836) and Joe Cowell in Thirty Years Passed Among the Players in England and America (1829). The game is usually played with poker chips; a white chip is worth a unit, or minimum ante or bet, while a red chip is worth two units and a blue chip is worth five whites.