Poker is a game of chance that is played with cards and chips. The player who has the highest hand wins the pot, which is the sum of all the bets made by all players in a deal.

Poker can be played with any number of players from two to fourteen, but in most cases the ideal number is six or seven. The rules vary, but all versions involve betting against other players.

The game is played with a standard deck of cards, which are ranked from high to low, and each hand contains five cards. The player who has the best hand wins the pot, but not if there are multiple hands with the same rank (i.e., if both hands have a pair of kings).

A player can bet or fold in the course of a game. Calling is when a player matches the current bet, while raising is when a player makes a bigger bet than the original one.

Betting rounds occur during a poker game and the player who first bets is called the dealer. The other players have the option to either fold or call.

In some games, a player may be required to place an initial amount of money into the pot before the cards are dealt, such as an ante or a big blind. If a player declines to do this, they are said to “drop” or “fold.” Once all of the players have folded their hands, the remaining player takes the pot.