Poker is a card game that can be played by two or more players. There are countless variations of the game, but most of them involve betting on a hand of five cards. The object of the game is to win the pot, which is the total of all bets made during a deal. A player can win the pot by having a high-ranking hand, or by making a bet that no other players call.

In most poker games, each player must place an ante (a amount of chips representing money) before they are dealt cards. Then they must bet on their hands during one or more betting intervals. A player may call, raise, or drop (fold). When a player drops, they must discard their cards and are out of the betting. If more than one hand has the highest rank, the hand with the higher ranking wins. For example, five aces beats five kings.

A player can also win by bluffing. This involves betting that they have a good hand when in fact they do not. Players often bluff when they think their opponents are calling too many bets.

The game is usually played with a standard 52-card deck, though sometimes wild cards are used. The dealer shuffles the deck, then deals each player one card face down and another card face up. After the first betting interval, the cards are gathered into the center of the table and a showdown occurs.