The game of poker is a mix of chance and skill. While bluffing and misdirection are integral to the game, the history of poker is a bit hazy. While the first version of poker was probably a 17th century French card game known as poque, it evolved into the German pochen and a new version of primero. The game of poker eventually found its way to North America thanks to French settlers.

Poker can be played with as many as six to eight players, but six to eight is the ideal number. The sum of all bets made by players during a particular hand is called the pot. A winning hand is either the best five-card combination or the one that is the highest ranking of the five cards. The highest-ranking poker hand wins the pot and the winner collects the pot. During a single hand, a player may use the bluffing strategy and bet a high hand without expecting to win.

As the game progresses, players will rotate responsibilities and betting intervals. Players whose turn it is to shuffle the cards are the dealers. The dealer is in the first-to-act position and sits immediately to the left of the big blind and the button. Each player who places a chip into the pot is considered an active player. After this player has placed their chips in the pot, the dealer may choose to offer the shuffled pack to his opponent for a cut.