Poker is a card game played by two or more people and in which the players place bets using chips representing money. There are many different variants of poker, but all have the same basic rules. Each player must have a certain number of chips and each chip has a different value. A white chip, for example, is worth a single ante or bet; a red chip is worth five whites; and a blue chip is worth either 10 or 20 whites.

A poker hand consists of a combination of cards of equal rank and of matching suits. The highest hand is a royal flush, which consists of four matching cards in a suit. The next highest is a straight, which contains consecutive cards of the same rank. Other hands include three of a kind, which has three cards of the same rank, and two pair, which has two cards of the same rank plus one unmatched card. The lowest hand is a high card, which contains an unmatched card.

Before any cards are dealt, players must place a forced bet, or “blind”, into the pot. The player to the left of the dealer, known as the button, has the privilege or obligation to do this. If the player declines to do so, he must fold his hand and may not compete in that round of betting.

Once all players have placed their bets into the pot, the cards are dealt. Depending on the variant of poker being played, some cards are dealt face up and some face down. The first round of betting is usually started by the player to the left of the button.

In most games, the smallest bet, or “small blind”, is placed by the player to the left of the button. The small blind is a forced bet designed to give players something to chase after, so that they don’t always lose chips by folding their hands preflop.

If a player wants to raise the amount of money in the pot, they must say “raise.” When it’s their turn, other players can choose whether to call (match the raised bet) or fold.

Some of the most popular variations of poker are Texas Hold’em and Omaha. In these games, each player is dealt two cards, called hole cards, and then five community cards are dealt in stages, known as the flop, the turn, and the river. Throughout the process, players make bets based on their knowledge of probability, psychology, and game theory. In addition, they often rely on their ability to read other players’ tells – unconscious habits that reveal the strength of their hands. These can be as simple as eye contact or a change in posture. In a cash game, these tells can be very lucrative. Players can also try to bluff other players by making false bets. A successful bluff can be as profitable as a winning hand. This is why the game is so popular.