Poker is a card game that may be played by two or more players and involves betting. It is considered the national card game of the United States and is played in private homes, card clubs, casinos, and over the Internet. There are many different variants of the game, but all involve betting and a high degree of skill. The goal is to win the pot, which is the aggregate of all bets made during a hand. If no player has a winning hand after the final betting round, a showdown takes place where the hands are revealed and the winner is determined.
To play poker, each player must have chips (representing money) that he or she places into the pot at the beginning of the betting round. Each player must either match or raise the bet placed by the player to his or her left. If a player does not wish to place a bet, he or she may say “check” and simply pass on the turn to act.
A good hand in poker consists of five cards of matching rank and suit. A full house contains three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank, while a flush is five consecutive cards of the same suit. A pair is two cards of the same rank, while a straight contains five cards that skip around in ranking but are all of the same suit. If no other hand has a higher ranking, the winner is declared.