Poker is a card game played between two or more players. It can be a social or competitive game. A player’s success depends on their ability to read the other players and make smart bets. It is considered a game of skill and psychology, although luck plays a large part in the game as well.

There are many variants of poker, some with different numbers of cards and hands. Most have betting rounds, and the object is to win a “pot,” which is the total amount of bets placed during one deal. The pot may be won by having the highest-ranking hand or by making a bet that no other player calls.

A player must place an ante (a fixed number of chips or cash) before being dealt cards, and then each player in turn must either call or raise the previous bet. Saying “call” means to match the last bet; for example, if the person to your right raised $10, you would say “I call” and place $10 in chips or cash into the pot.

A pair of matching cards is the lowest possible hand, and a straight or flush the next best. The highest hand is five of a kind, followed by four of a kind, three of a kind, and so on. The high card usually breaks ties. There are countless books and online resources on the subject of poker strategy, but good players develop their own approach through detailed self-examination and by discussing their play with other players.