With the emergence of internet poker, online gambling and televising, official poker has grown to be one of the world’s most popular pastimes. There are a number of different poker variants, but the basic rules of poker remain the same for all of them:

A player must place forced bets on each hand, usually an ante or blind bet (sometimes both). The dealer then shuffles and deals each player a number of cards. These may be dealt face up or down, depending on the game. After the dealing, a series of betting rounds begins. At the end of each round, players reveal their cards and a winner is determined.

During a hand, players are permitted to check, call, raise, or fold. However, it is against poker rules to divulge the contents of a folded hand or to make any comment or inference to the content of a player’s cards. In addition, it is against poker rules to look through the muck or deck stub, and players may not receive “coaching” or advice from a guest while playing in the game.

A violation of these poker rules can have serious consequences for the offender. For example, in April, partypoker banned pro David “Devplaza” Afework from a major tournament after he was accused of using two accounts to ghost his way to first place. It was alleged that Afework’s laptop was connected to his girlfriend’s VPN, allowing him to access the account from another location and gain an advantage over his opponents.