The bluffing and misdirection spirit of Poker is its hallmark, and the origins of the game are apocryphal. Its earliest known European version was probably the 17th-century French game poque, from which the English word poker originates. The game later evolved into the German pochen, which was an evolution of the Spanish primero. When Europeans colonized North America, they brought the game with them.

Most games of poker use poker chips. A standard deck of 52 cards is usually used. In countries with short packs of cards, players may play with a shorter deck of cards. In every game, each player buys in with a chip that is equal to the total number of chips that have already been shared by all other players. This is also called a “buy-in.” In general, players must place at least one chip into the pot.

Poker players must contribute an ante before the hand is dealt. This gives the pot an immediate value. If there are more than seven players, the ante is known as the big blind. The small blind and the big blind are the same. In addition to the ante, each player must make an all-in bet, which puts all of his or her chips into the pot. However, if a game has more than seven players, the ante is usually a higher value than the other chips in the pot.