Poker is a card game with a high chance of winning. Players make bets, and whoever makes the best hand wins the pot. There are typically five to seven players at a poker table. In five-card poker, identical pairs are considered equal. However, in other forms of poker, suits have no relative rank. Therefore, players with two identical pairs split the pot. Whether a pair has the higher value is a matter of the ranking of the next card.
The earliest forms of poker used twenty-four cards, but since the 1850s, the game has evolved into several variants. The most common form is known as straight poker, and it is played with a standard deck. Some countries, including the U.K., use short packs. The deck configuration, number of cards in play, and number of face-up cards used in a single game vary from game to game, but all involve a round of betting.
In some variations of poker, players can double their initial stake. The first player to make a bet has the privilege and obligation of raising the initial bet. Each player must then place his/her chips into the pot equal to the total amount of each player prior to him. This player is called an “active player.”