Poker is a card game in which players wager money on the outcome of a hand. It is played with a conventional 52-card deck, although many variations use alternative deck sizes. The objective of the game is to win bets by having a superior poker hand or convincing other players that your hand is better than theirs, a practice known as bluffing. Poker is often considered a game of skill, but luck plays an important role as well.

There are many different variants of poker, but most share some basic rules. The game starts with one player placing an amount of chips or cash into the pot, called a bring-in. Then, each player must place the same amount of chips in the pot as the person to his or her right. This is known as calling a bet.

After the cards are dealt, players can either call or raise a bet. The betting continues until all players have folded or the highest ranked hand is shown. The player with the highest ranked hand wins the pot, which is the sum of all bets made during that hand.

Besides the basics of the game, you should know how to read tells, which are unconscious habits that reveal information about the player’s hand. These tells can be as simple as a change in posture or gesture to something more subtle, like eye contact. By understanding these tells, you will be able to determine the type of player you are dealing with and be more successful in reading their intentions.