Poker is a card game that requires skill and strategy to win. The game is played with a standard 52-card deck, sometimes with extra cards called jokers. The game can be played with just two players or more than 10. Players place bets on the value of their cards. The player with the best hand wins the pot. There are many different poker variants, but all have the same basic rules.

After each player receives their two hole cards, there is a round of betting. This is started by 2 mandatory bets, known as blinds, put into the pot by the players to the left of the dealer. Then, another card is dealt face up. This is the flop. A new round of betting begins, and the players then decide whether to call a bet or fold.

When the players are done betting, it is time for a showdown. Each player then reveals their cards and evaluates their hands. The player with the best five-card hand wins the pot. There are many ways to have a good poker hand, including a pair, straight, flush, and four of a kind.

The relative homogeneity of our sample is likely strengthened by the fact that players self-select into different stake levels on the basis of their perceptions of their skill level. Better players will play for larger stakes, and worse or beginning players may choose to play at lower ones. This self-selection reduces the impact of randomness in the outcome of a hand, but it also means that it will take a long series of games for skills differences to materialize.