Poker is a card game that pits individuals against each other in a competition for a pot of money or chips. The rules of poker are complex, but they can be understood with some effort and study. The game is popular in casinos and card rooms worldwide. The popularity of poker has been boosted by television and the Internet. Texas hold ’em became especially popular after the turn of the millennium, replacing seven-card stud as the standard game in casino gambling establishments and as the main event of major tournaments such as the World Series of Poker.

While poker can be played with actual money in some places, most games use casino-like chips that represent a player’s stake in the game. The value of a poker chip is usually marked with its denomination. Players may choose to play with different denominations of poker chips at a single establishment, but they must be clearly distinguished from one another so that security systems can monitor the amount of money being used in each hand.

The rules of poker must be carefully followed to avoid cheating, deliberate acting out of turn or other infringements on the game’s integrity. The game’s official governing body, the International Federation of Poker (FIDPA), has taken steps to establish an internationally recognized set of rules for the benefit of the global poker community.

The author of this rulebook has selected which of the many existing rules to include, and he has formatted, organized and worded them for clarity. It is his goal to produce a comprehensive set of poker rules that can be widely used and distributed. Individuals and cardrooms are free to copy this rulebook and use it in their operations as long as no profit is made and the name of the author is credited.