Poker is a card game where you bet against other players over a series of rounds. Each round starts with an ante – a small amount of money that all players must put into the pot before they get dealt cards. The player with the highest ranked hand wins the pot at the end of the hand. There are many different variations of the game, but they all have a few key similarities. The most common is Texas Hold’em, where two hole cards are dealt to each player and a community set of five cards (three cards – the flop, an additional card – the turn, and another card – the river) are then dealt face up.

There are many ways to bet in poker, from checking (passing on betting) to raising – adding more chips to the pot than the player before you. When you raise, it’s important to understand how much pressure your opponent is under. You should also look beyond their own cards to consider what else they might have – for example, if you’re the first player to act and they’ve already raised once, you can bet again, this time increasing their previous raise.

The player with the best hand when all hands are revealed wins the pot – all of the chips that have been bet in the hand so far. The winning hand is usually a high pair or three of a kind, but there are other combinations too.