Poker is a card game in which players place bets using chips that represent money. The object of the game is to win the “pot,” which is the sum of all bets placed during a single deal. This pot may be won by having the highest-ranking poker hand, or by making a bet that no other player calls. The game can be played between two and 14 people, but it is most commonly played with six or eight. There are many different variations of the game, each with its own unique rules. The game has a long history and is widely believed to be an ancestor of other card games and board games.
A royal flush contains a 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace of the same suit (all clubs, diamonds, hearts or spades). This is the highest possible poker hand. Four of a kind is four cards of the same rank and one wild card. A straight is five consecutive cards of the same suit. Two pair is two distinct pairs of cards and a fifth card. High card breaks ties in case of identical hands.
Players can check, raise, or fold their hands after betting in a given number of betting intervals, depending on the game’s rules. In turn, each player must either call or raise the bet of the previous player to stay in the hand. The remaining players then participate in a showdown, during which they reveal their cards and the player with the best poker hand wins. Players can also bluff in poker, raising bets without having a strong hand, hoping to frighten other players into folding their own hands.