A game of poker is a card game where players bet money into the pot based on the strength of their hand. The highest hand wins the pot. There is a large amount of skill involved in poker, especially when betting is involved. However, luck also plays a major role. Some studies have shown that after a certain number of hands skill dominates chance.

At the beginning of each hand, players place a bet into the pot. They are dealt two cards each and must decide whether to continue betting or fold. A player may say “I open” if he wishes to raise the betting. If he does, the betting continues in clockwise order until someone else opens or everyone checks.

During the betting phase, the players try to create a five-card poker hand. The best possible hand is a pair of aces, kings, queens, jacks or tens of the same suit. A straight is five consecutive cards of the same suit (such as 5-6-7-8-9). A flush is three or more matching cards of one rank and two unmatched cards from another. Three of a kind is three cards of the same rank. A pair is two cards of the same rank.

A game of poker can be played with any number of people, but is most popular with six to eight players. There are many different rules, but the general principle is that each player puts in a bet equal to the total value of the pot. The pot is won by the player who makes the highest-ranking poker hand or by making a bet that no other players call. There are also side pots for particular combinations of cards.