Poker is a card game played with a standard deck of 52 cards (although some variant games use multiple packs or add wild cards, such as dueces). The game involves betting between players and the player with the highest hand wins.

Each round has one or more betting intervals, depending on the rules of the specific poker variant being played. During each betting interval, a player designated by the rules of the variant being played has the privilege or obligation to place in the pot the number of chips (representing money, for which poker is almost always played) that is at least equal to the total contribution to the pot made by the player before him. The player who places the first bet is called the ante.

Once the final betting period is over, the players reveal their hands. If no one has a winning hand, the players with the best hands share the contents of the pot.

The term nut usually refers to a pair of pocket 7’s, but may also mean any other high pair that is suited and of matching suits. The flop is the community cards dealt after the turn and river. If the flop is 7-6-2, then you would have the nuts as you now hold a straight. However, if the river is the 3 then you would no longer have the nuts as someone else has a flush. The nuts change with each card that is dealt, so you need to be careful when deciding whether or not to fold.