Poker is the card game that involves betting and bluffing. It is a chance-based game, but when the betting comes in (especially with more than one player), skill and psychology play a bigger role.
There are many different variations of poker, but the basic rules are always the same. In standard poker, each player gets five cards. The highest hand wins. Some games have wild cards (such as jokers or deuces or one-eyed jacks). Wild cards are not part of a standard deck, but they can help you create a winning hand by replacing any card that would make your hand worse.
The rank of a poker hand is determined by the odds (probability). If two hands have the same rank, they tie and split any winnings. A royal flush is a straight of five cards of the same suit. A four of a kind is a full house. If more than one hand has a four of a kind, the higher rank wins (five aces beats five queens).
The by-play between players is interesting to read. Writers can use this to their advantage by describing the way that players react to each other: who flinched, who smiled or didn’t blink. This helps to add tension and drama to a scene. It also allows writers to identify more conservative players (players who fold early in a hand) and aggressive players (players who bet high in an early position before seeing how the other players react). Observe experienced players and try to figure out their betting patterns to build your own instincts.