Poker is a card game that involves betting between players after each hand is dealt. It can be played with as few as two players or a large group of people. There are many variations of the game, but they all share some basic features. The underlying skill in Poker is minimizing losses with bad hands and maximizing winnings with good ones.
Each player begins with two cards, known as hole cards. These are placed face down. A series of five community cards is then dealt in stages, with three cards referred to as the flop and an additional single card, the river, being added later. The player with the highest five-card hand wins. Players may also bluff, betting that they have a superior hand when they don’t, and winning if other players call their bets.
Once the betting rounds begin, players can bet chips into the pot that their opponents must match or forfeit their hands. They can also raise, which means adding more money to the bet amount. Players can also “check,” which means passing on betting and waiting until it is their turn again.
To make your scenes feel more authentic, you can focus on the players’ reactions and by-play between them rather than on the shuffling of the cards or the details of each hand. For example, a good scene might include how the hero flinches at a raised bet or whether the heroine smiles in disbelief when her opponent calls a re-raise.