Poker is a card game that involves betting and bluffing. The objective is to make the best 5 card hand using your own 2 cards and the 5 community cards. Players place bets (called blinds) into a pot at the start of each round. Players can raise bets on the flop, turn and river (dealt third card). When a player believes they have the best hand they show it. Players can also choose to discard their cards and draw new ones if they want. Alternatively, they can keep their cards and continue to bet. The player with the highest ranked hand wins the pot/all bets.

Poker has many antecedents, not all of which are relevant to its modern form. Its likeliest immediate ancestor is Poque, a game with the same name that was played in culturally French territory as early as the late 16th century, and had a brief mid-century revival under the spelling ‘Pochen’.

Writing about poker can be challenging because it is a fast-paced, high stakes game where every player has a unique set of tells that give away information about their cards. This is why it’s important to write with enthusiasm and personality. The more you can paint pictures in the readers’ minds, the more engaging your article will be. A good way to do this is to include anecdotes. Whether they’re funny or sad, personal anecdotes are an excellent way to capture the reader’s attention.