Poker is a card game for two or more players. It is a game of betting and concealment, in which players attempt to make decisions without knowing the full facts of their opponents’ hands. This game of hidden information and risk resembles real life, in which resources are committed before all the available information is known.
The object of the game is to win the pot, which is the sum total of all bets in a particular hand. Each player contributes chips (representing money) to the pot at their turn. During a betting interval, a player may choose to place his or her chips into the pot either to call (match the bet of the person before him) or raise it. In some Poker variants, a player may also check.
When a player is dealt a pair of cards, they are said to have “pair.” If one or more pairs are tied, the high card breaks the tie. The highest card is also used to break ties in the event of identical suits.
A player who has a strong hand often bets to keep the pot growing, while weaker hands may be bluffed into folding by other players. This allows a skilled player to exploit his or her opponents’ misinformation by strategically deceiving them about the strength of their own hands. It is also possible to “cash in” before the showdown, by withdrawing all your chips from the pot. The remaining players then reveal their hands and the winner collects the pot of money. The rules of Poker vary by variant, but most games have a special fund, called the kitty, into which players can deposit chips. The kitty is used to pay for new decks of cards and food and drinks.