Poker is a card game that involves betting between two or more players. The aim of the game is to win a pot, which is the sum of all bets made in a round. The best way to do this is to make your opponents think you have something that you don’t, either by bluffing or playing a good hand.
There are many different types of poker, but most involve the same basic rules. Each player is dealt five cards from a standard 52-card pack (although some games use multiple packs, add extra cards called jokers or alter the rank of the cards). A poker hand must consist of five cards; higher hands are generally more valuable.
A player may choose to reveal his or her hand at the end of a betting round, and if no one calls, that player wins the pot. This is known as a showdown. Players take turns clockwise revealing their cards. The first player to do so can decide whether to call the bet by putting chips into the pot equal to or greater than the amount put in by the players before him, or raise the bet.
The game also requires a dealer, who is responsible for shuffling the cards and dealing them to each player. Depending on the game, this person may be a non-player or another player at the table. The dealer is designated by a special chip, and the privilege of being the dealer changes with each deal.
