In poker, a hand is called a straight when five cards are in sequence. A straight can be high or low, and it can also be a straight if all of the cards are the same suit. The highest straight wins the pot. However, if two straights are the same value, they split the pot.
Each betting interval in poker starts with a player placing his or her ante in the pot. At this time, the other players are required to either bet or raise an equal number of chips. After the players have raised their bets, they must discard their hand and show their cards. Otherwise, the player loses the chips in the pot.
The game is played by several people sitting around a rectangular or oval table. The first player is the dealer. Each player is dealt a card from a shuffled deck. The player with the highest card is the first dealer. In case of a tie, a dealer is chosen by the first player clockwise.
There are many variations of poker. The most common is Texas Hold’em. In this type of poker, players put in an ante, or “buy in” bet, before being dealt their hole cards.