Poker is one of the world’s most popular games. It can be played socially for pennies and matchsticks or professionally for thousands of dollars. It has a long and rich history that stretches back centuries. It is a game that is primarily luck-driven, but requires incredible skill and strategy too.

It is a card game in which players bet on the best hand of five cards they have in their possession. Each player acts in turn, betting either to call (match the amount staked by the previous player) or raise it. A player may also fold if they don’t have the best hand.

The highest-ranking hand is a royal flush, which consists of a 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of the same suit. The second-highest is a straight flush, which consists of five consecutive cards of the same suit. Other high hands include three of a kind, four of a kind and two pairs.

The name “poker” probably comes from a French variant of the Dutch word poque, which in turn derives from the Latin pignus or pilon (a container for staking). Several different games are similar to poker: Primiera and its English equivalent Primero (16th – 17th centuries), Glic and its French equivalent Gilet (both of which remain current), and Mus (Spanish, currently) and Ambigu (18th century). The joker-a wild card in the standard pack that is used in poker-is not counted as an ace, but it can be substituted for an ace when necessary to make a straight or certain special hands.