Poker is a card game played by two or more players and involves betting. It is normally played with a 52-card deck plus one or two jokers, shuffled before each hand. Players must place an amount into the pot before they can see their cards, which is known as the ante. They then can choose to call a bet, raise it or pass. The player with the highest hand wins the pot.

Poker can be played with any number of people, although the ideal is five or six. Each player has a stack of chips that they buy in for the game, usually with different colors of chips, each worth a certain value. A white chip is typically worth the minimum ante or bet; a red chip might be worth ten whites; and a blue chip might be worth 25 whites.

The best way to learn the game is by watching experienced players. This will help you develop your instincts and react quickly to changing situations.

Observe the body language of each player. Almost all poker players have tells, unconscious habits that reveal information about their hand to other players. These can be as simple as a change in posture or as complex as a facial expression or gesture. Describing a series of card draws, bets and checks will be boring for most readers, so focus most of your description on the players’ reactions to the cards. Who flinched, who smiled and what was said in between are what makes poker interesting.