Poker is a card game with many variants. The goal of the game is to win the most money in a round by creating a five-card hand. The highest-ranking hand is the royal flush, which consists of four matching cards in one suit. Other highly-ranked hands include the straight and the full house, which each consist of three matching cards of one rank and two matching cards of another rank. There are also a variety of low-ranking hands, such as the high card.
The game begins with players placing chips or cash into a pot in front of them. Each player then receives two cards. After this, the players take turns clockwise around the table revealing their hands. The player with the best 5-card hand wins the round and all of the money that was placed into the pot. Sometimes there is a tie between the players with the best hand, in which case the winning player splits the money evenly among them.
Some variations of the game require players to place blind bets before they are dealt their cards. A player may also raise a bet when it is their turn, meaning they increase the amount that they are betting. Other players may call a raise, meaning that they match the raising player’s bet to stay in the round. If a player does not want to bet, they can “check,” which means that they will not make a bet and will pass the turn to the next player.