Poker is a card game that is played for money (or chips) in rounds of betting. The basic goal of the game is to win pots by making other players fold (drop their cards and leave the table). There is a huge amount of luck involved in this, but good poker players are also adept at reading other players and applying pressure.
A pot is the total sum of all bets made in a hand. A player may “call” a pot bet by putting in the same number of chips as the previous player, or raise it. If a player cannot match the raise or higher they must drop out of the pot.
When a player has a high pair they win the pot. A high pair is two distinct cards of equal value. Higher pairs break ties. Three or more distinct cards break ties in all other hands.
Each player begins the game by buying in for a set amount of chips. Usually a white chip is worth one unit; a red chip is worth five units; and a blue chip is worth 10 or 20 units, depending on the size of the pot. The player to the left of the dealer begins the betting. After each player receives their two cards they can choose to hit, stay, or double up. To hit, a player must put the same number of chips into the pot as the previous player or more. To stay, a player must say “stay.” If they want to double up, they must say “double up.”