Official poker is a card game in which individuals compete for an amount of money or chips contributed by all players (the pot). Individuals place wagers on the outcome of the hand based upon their prediction of what their opponents may be holding and how they will behave. In a round of betting, each player has the option to check, call, raise, or fold.
Cards are dealt face down to each player, and the players make bets based on the strength of their hands. The poker rules vary by game, but most include a burncard to remove the top card from play before each deal, a table clock for keeping track of time in a given hand, and a rule that a player may not increase their bet by more than an amount equal to their opponent’s previous raise.
A player can ask to see the winning hand of an opponent, but the privilege can be revoked if abused. This is a way to prevent cheating and other types of violations.
Robert Ciaffone, known in the poker world as Bob Ciaffone, is the person who selected which rules to use, formatted and organized them, and worded them. He is also a leading authority on the rules of cardroom games and has been a rules consultant and drafter for numerous cardrooms.
