Poker is a card game in which players compete to create the best hand. It requires a number of skills, including the ability to read your opponent’s hands, predict odds, and play a cool demeanor while making big bluffs.

Basics

The game of poker begins with the players being dealt a hand of five cards face-down. This is followed by one or more betting rounds during which players develop their hand, often by discarding a number of cards and drawing new ones.

Each round of betting ends when a player calls (matches) the last bet made or folds, losing all previous bets and further involvement in the hand. A bettor may also raise, increasing the amount of money in the pot.

Betting rounds occur in a clockwise direction, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer and continuing until everyone has called the last bet or folded. In some variants, a player who doesn’t want to bet may “check” the pot; if another player raises, all other players must call the new bet or fold.

A typical poker game awards the pot to the highest hand as per standard poker hand rankings, but there are some variants in which the best hand is the lowest-ranked hand, based on suit or number of cards. There are also games in which the best hand is a pair of aces, or a suited flush or straight.

The game is played with poker chips, which are generally red, white, black, or blue in color and varying in size. Players exchange cash for these chips before the start of the game.