Poker is a card game where players bet on their best hand. A poker hand is composed of five cards, with the highest hand – the highest possible poker hand – winning the pot.

The first player to put his chips in the pot is called the active player. After the dealer places the first bet, each player is required to place their chips in the pot as well. The pot is split as equally as possible, except when one of the players legally declares the pot to be open. The winner is the player who made the highest bet.

Before the start of the game, the poker dealer assigns values to the chips. For example, if a player wins a hand with two pairs, the dealer will offer the opponent the shuffled pack to cut.

The game is played with a standard pack of 52 cards, ranked from Ace high to Ace low. There are also wild cards.

The kicker is the highest-ranking card in the deck. It is used to break ties when several people tie for the highest card. The most common example is when someone has a pair of kings and an opponent has a pair of kings.

When two people have a pair of kings, the high card breaks the tie. This is because there is a higher-rank four-of-a-kind.

In addition, there are some other important things to know about poker. Aside from knowing the basics, you should also be able to estimate the frequency of your opponents’ actions. This will enable you to decide whether to bet or fold.