Poker is a card game in which players place bets into a central pot. Each player starts with 2 cards and builds a poker hand with the best possible 5 cards (from their two personal cards and the five community cards on the table). There are a number of rounds of betting in between where players can change their bets or fold.

In most games, players must first make a forced bet, called an ante or blind bet. Then, the dealer shuffles and deals the cards one at a time to each player starting with the person on their left. They can be dealt either face up or down depending on the variant of poker being played. There are often several rounds of betting in between where players can change the value of their hand by making calls or raising bets.

Some poker hands are more valuable than others (e.g., A pair beats three of a kind, four of a kind beats a full house). Each poker player has their own style that they use to play the game which is usually described in terms of tells. These can be anything from a facial expression to body language, but are generally unconscious habits that give away information about your hand.

While the results of any particular hand may involve a large element of chance, poker is largely a game that relies on decision-making based on probability, psychology, and game theory. Using these tools, skilled players can maximize their winnings and minimize their losses.