Poker is a game of chance played with cards. It is played from a standard pack of 52 cards (some games use more than one pack, and some include jokers as wild cards). The highest hand wins.

A player begins the game by placing an initial amount of money in the pot (called an ante) before the deal is made. Depending on the rules of the game, a player may also place a bet called a blind in front of his antes.

After the ante and blind bets are made, each player is dealt two face-down cards (called their hole cards), as well as one card faceup. The flop is a community card, and each player uses these cards to build his or her 5-card hand.

The betting phase begins with the player to the left of the dealer. During this period, players can call (match the current open bet or raise), raise, or fold.

When a player calls, the other players in turn must match the call and add their chips to the betting pool. The round of betting ends once all but one player has either called, checked, folded, or made an all-in bet.

Ties are broken by the highest card or pairs.

The best hand is a Royal flush, which contains five cards in a row (A-K-Q-J-T) of the same suit. Other hands include a straight, a full house, and a flush.