Poker is a card game for two or more players with the objective of winning a pot, the sum total of all bets placed during one deal. The game can be played with any number of cards, but the ideal amount is six. The game may be played with or without a dealer, but in most cases a dealer is responsible for the dealing of the cards and collecting the bets. Depending on the rules of the game, players must place an initial amount of money into the pot before being dealt a hand, this is called the ante, blind or bring-in. The player to the left of the button (dealer) has the first turn to ante or bet. The ante or bet must always be at least the minimum amount required by the rules of the game.
When it’s your turn to bet you can “check” by matching the previous player’s bet or raise it. You can also “fold” your hand, dropping out of the round and forfeiting the bet you made. You can also “raise” the previous player’s bet by increasing the amount you wish to bet.
Jenny Just, 54, co-founder of PEAK6 Investments and a self-made billionaire, says poker has taught her lessons in strategic thinking, risk management and confidence. She began playing the game with her teen daughter a few years ago and quickly realized that the skills she’d learned as an options trader were transferable to the game.