Poker is a card game where players compete for a pot of money by betting on their hand. It is played with cards and chips, and is popular among both professionals and casual players.

There are several different forms of poker, but they all share some common rules. The most common is Texas Hold’em, which uses a standard poker hand ranking system and a betting structure.

The basic goal of poker is to form the best five-card hand, based on the player’s cards and the community cards (which are dealt face up). There are ten ways to win: High card, pair, two pairs, three of a kind, four of a kind, flush, straight, and kicker.

In some games the rank of standard poker hands is determined by their odds, and in others it is based on the suit. A straight is five consecutive cards of the same suit, while a flush is five cards of different suits in sequence.

Depending on the variation, the highest or lowest hand may be awarded the pot; some poker variations, such as high-low split, divide the pot between the best hands rather than awarding it to the highest hand.

In a cash game, a player’s first bet is called an “ante”. Once the ante has been made, the dealer deals each player two cards, which are kept secret from the rest of the table. The dealer then gives each player a chance to bet, fold, or check before the next betting round begins.