Poker is a game in which players reveal their cards in turn. The best hand wins the pot. A hand with a pair of aces is called a flush, and a hand with a pair of kings is called a straight. Players place bets on their cards before each hand is revealed.

There are any number of players in a poker game, but the ideal number is between six and eight players. The pot is the total amount of bets made by all players in a single round of play. A player can win the pot by having the highest-ranking hand, or by making the highest bet that no other player calls.

A poker game requires a table with plenty of chairs. Most games have a maximum of eight or nine players. The players start the game by placing an ante, or “buy in” bet, into a central pot. The winner of the pot is the player with the highest hand. Betting is done in clockwise order and players have three options during the betting process: fold, raise or check.

Poker games use a 52-card deck. Each deck contains four cards of each suit: clubs, diamonds, spades, and hearts. The dealer is responsible for shuffling the deck and dealing the cards to players. The dealer can be a player or a non-player. During the game, players take turns being the dealer. After each round, the dealer is replaced by a new player.