Poker is a card game played by two or more players. The object is to win the pot, or the aggregate of bets made by all players in a given deal. This can be done by having the highest-ranking hand or by making a bet that no other player calls. A standard 52-card deck is used in most forms of the game. The earliest known form of poker was played with a 20-card pack evenly divided among four players. The top hand was a full house, consisting of three matching cards of one rank and two matching cards of another rank, or a straight containing five consecutive cards of the same suit (but not necessarily all from the same suit).
After everyone has received their 2 hole cards, there is a round of betting initiated by a set of mandatory bets called blinds placed into the pot by the players to the left of the dealer. If a player wishes to stay in the pot, he must call at least one of the raises. If he does not, he must either fold or equalize by increasing his stake by the amount of money that the last raiser raised, or else drop out of the pot entirely.
Much of what makes poker a compelling story is the interaction between players and their reactions to the cards they hold. To capture this aspect, writers should be sure to use the five elements of plot conflict: exposition, rising action, players’ reactions, and a showdown. Also, they should focus on the details of the game, such as the by-play between players and the tells that all players have – unconscious habits that reveal information about their hands.