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Official Poker

Official poker is a family of card games that compare the strength of a hand to others in a game. The rules vary by game but all involve at least one round of betting.

A player may call if they match the amount of the bet placed by their opponent(s) since the last betting round. They may also raise if they match the bet of their opponent(s) and add an amount to it.

Betting rounds occur in regular rotation until all players have either called or folded. Then, a showdown occurs and each player reveals their hands. The winner takes the pot.

Dealing and betting rounds

Each hand is dealt clockwise around the table, one at a time. The right to deal is marked by a token, called a dealer button, which is rotated among the players.

Cards are dealt face up or face down, depending on the specific game. Some poker games use a standard deck, while others use a short pack of cards.

In stud games, suit can be used to break ties between cards of the same rank from low to high. The suit ranks are clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades.

Jokers can be added as wild cards in a number of poker games. These are treated like a card that has been dealt, although the dealer does not know about them.

Protecting your own hand

It is the responsibility of a player to protect their hand from being mucked (killed by a dealer) or peeked at by another player. This is not necessarily breaking the rules, but it can be annoying and can affect the outcome of a game.

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