When you play poker, whether at a casino or at home with friends, there are certain things that have to be adhered to to keep the game official. These rules are the same for all poker games, whether you are playing a variant like Texas Hold’em or Omaha or a less popular game such as Razz or Pai Gow. The basic rules for each game are to combine your own cards with the community cards to make the best 5-card poker hand. These hands can be made with both hole cards or just one, and you can win the pot with your highest hand.

Poker rules are regulated by a professional poker association, the Tournament Directors Association, or TDA, which works to standardize and improve the quality of tournaments around the world. In addition, the TDA also works to avoid disputes between players by ensuring that there are clear and enforceable rules.

The TDA is composed of a variety of people, including managers of major live or online poker rooms, circuits, and poker leagues, as well as top poker players who participate in international poker events. This allows the TDA to be an impartial and objective source of rules.

In addition to standardizing poker rules, the TDA has also worked to eliminate some common errors. For example, a player who makes several forward motions to call and then moves back and forth to raise does not have the right to do so (it is referred to as string betting or raising and it breaks poker rules). The dealer must notice this in order to rule on it.