Generally speaking, official poker is a game played in a card room. The rules are set forth by the rules book that describes the procedures of the game.
The cards are dealt in a pre-determined order. The first player to sit down at the table is dealt the first card. The next player is also dealt a hand. The remaining players are dealt their hands in clockwise order.
At the beginning of the game, the dealer places a pre-determined amount of chips on the table. These are called the blinds. At regular intervals, the blinds are raised.
The chips must be visible to other players. If the players at the table cannot see the chips, they may be considered to be “dead money”. This means that the chips are not part of the bet. The player is therefore not legally able to play his or her hand.
The dealer counts the number of chips on the table. If he or she finds chips that are not in the proper denomination, they are removed from the event.
The player with the highest ranked hand wins the pot. The remaining players are then awarded a prize based on their poker hands. If one or more players are all-in, the pot may be divided. Those who are all-in must declare their all-in bet at showdown.
Each player has the right to check-raise when they are in their turn. This is done by raising the same amount as the previous player’s bet.