Poker is a game of cards and chips in which players take turns betting on their hands. It has many variants and is a card game of skill and chance, often played for high stakes.

The game is usually played with a standard pack of 52 cards, although some variants may use multiple packs or add wild cards (jokers) to the set. The standard cards are ranked (high to low) Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. There are four suits: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs; no suit is higher than any other.

Each player has two personal cards in his hand and is dealt five community cards on the table. These cards form the community pool for each round of betting. Each player then puts into the pot a bet equal to the amount of money already raised by the other players. He may raise this bet again and again, but once he has raised it to a certain level, he must call it or fold.

When all players have revealed their hands, the highest ranked hand wins the pot and all bets. Players can also win by bluffing, pretending that their hand is highly ranked when it is not. When a player bluffs, the cards in his hand are not revealed to the other players so that they cannot tell whether he is telling the truth or bluffing. This allows players to raise the stakes on weaker hands and force other players to drop out.