Poker is a card game played between two or more players and involves betting on a hand. There are countless variants of the game, but they all share certain essential features. Each hand consists of five cards. The value of a hand is in inverse proportion to its mathematical frequency; the rarer the hand, the more valuable it is. A player may bet that he has the best hand, and other players must either call his bet or concede. Players may also bluff, by betting that they have a superior hand when in fact they do not.
A dealer begins the hand by dealing a set number of cards to each player. Then the players must decide whether to call or raise a bet before the next card is dealt, which is called the flop. After the flop, another round of betting takes place and players reveal their hands. The highest-ranked hand wins the pot.
Position
The position of a player has a significant impact on his starting hand range and strategy. Players in early positions like the SB and BB are at a disadvantage because they have less information than other players who haven’t yet raised. Players in later positions have a better idea of their opponents’ actions and can take advantage of this information.
The most interesting part of a poker story isn’t the cards, it’s the people’s reactions to the cards and by-play between them. Writers can bring their poker stories to life by focusing on the details, including who flinched or smiled at each bet and check.