Poker is a card game where players make bets with chips in an attempt to win the pot (the total amount of all bets in one deal). There are many variants of this card game, but they all feature some form of compulsory betting at the beginning of a hand. Depending on the rules of your game, this bet may be called an ante or a blind.

Each player starts with two cards hidden from the other players, known as their hole or pocket. They then use these along with five community cards revealed in the center of the table to make a 5-card poker hand. The player with the highest hand wins the pot.

During the betting phase, players take turns raising their stakes in order to stay in the pot and compete for the winning hand. If a player cannot meet the last raise, they must either call for the amount of their current stake or fold.

In the standard 53-card pack, all four deuces (2s) and the joker (“bug”) count as wild cards. A full house consists of 3 matching cards of one rank, a flush consists of 5 cards that are consecutive in rank or suit, and a straight consists of 5 cards in sequence but from different suits. Each poker hand also has a specific ranking, which determines how much money you win with your hand. To improve your chances of winning, you should know the probability of getting each specific card.