Poker is a card game with multiple hands. The game is played with two types of cards – face-up and face-down. For each hand, one player makes forced bets, such as an ante or a blind bet, and each player receives one or more cards. The cards are shuffled and cut after the ante is placed. The dealer deals cards to players one by one. The cards are dealt face-up or face-down, depending on the poker variant. As each player receives a hand, it develops between rounds and becomes a poker hand.

During betting rounds, each player receives one or two cards, face-up or face-down. Each player reveals their hands, including their hole cards, and if they do not have any cards, they are required to fold. If the player does not have a poker hand, the remaining players collect the pot. During the betting intervals, only the highest-ranking player is the first to bet. Later, the first player may check, but must place the minimum bet during the first betting interval.

The name poker comes from the Frenchpoque and Germanpochen, although it is unclear whether its origins lie with the games bearing those names. Poker closely resembles the Persian game as nas, and may have been taught by Persian sailors to French settlers in New Orleans. However, Poker is also often considered to have Renaissance roots and share ancestry with French brelan and primero. The English game brag is clearly descended from brelan and incorporates bluffing.