Poker is a card game for two or more players, played with chips. The game is contested over a series of betting intervals, or “hands.” The object of the game is to win a pot, which is the sum of all bets placed during a hand. A player may win a pot by having the best poker hand, or by making a bet that no other players call. There are many variants of the game, and the number of cards dealt varies. In some games, cards are not revealed until the end of the hand.

The game of poker has a deep relevance to life, as it requires the players to weigh risks and rewards. Often in poker, and also in life, the objective is to extract maximum value from a winning hand whilst minimising losses on losing hands – a strategy known as min-max (minimise losses – maximise wins).

In some cases it can be appropriate to use the metaphor of poker to explore themes of trust and betrayal within a story. The notion of bluffing, in particular, can be used as a tool to examine the duality of human nature, and is a useful way of adding a new dimension to the plot of a novel or short story.

In the earliest form of poker, there was only one round of betting in each hand. This version is documented reliably in the reminiscences of Jonathan Green in his Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling (1836), and also by two unconnected publications published slightly later: Joe Cowell’s Thirty Years Passed Among the Players in England and America (1844). Since then, poker has developed into a worldwide phenomenon, with numerous tournaments and television shows broadcasting around the world.