Traditionally, poker is played with a deck of 52 cards. However, some variant games use a single pack of cards, or even multiple packs. Some games also have wild cards, which can take any suit.

The goal of poker is to create the best hand of five cards. If two players have the same hand, then the one with the highest card wins. The best natural hand is a straight flush, where all of the cards are of the same suit.

The game begins with each player being dealt two cards, called the ante. Then, a betting phase is started, where each player can either fold or match the bet. The next round of betting starts with the player with the best face-up card. After the last betting phase, a showdown takes place.

In the final betting phase, each player will reveal his or her hand. The person with the best hand will win the pot. If there are ties, the high card breaks the tie. If there are more than two ties, the highest card outside of a four of a kind wins.

The ante is a buy-in bet. It is usually between $1 and $5. The value of the ante varies with the stakes of the game. When the ante is too large, a player can choose to double up their stake. Alternatively, house rules allow doubling the stake when there are only a few raises.

A pair of kings isn’t a bad hand, but it’s not good off the deal. The next highest card is probably a jack, which is a low value.