Poker is a card game in which players place bets and make decisions based on probability, psychology, and game theory. The game is largely chance, but the decision-making process is complicated by the fact that each player has only a limited number of actions available to them at any given time. A significant amount of skill and strategy is required to be successful at the game, especially in tournaments.

When a player’s turn comes, they can say “call” or “raise.” Calling means that you want to put the same amount of money in the pot as the last person. Raising means that you want to put in more than the previous player’s raise. This is a good way to try to steal a hand from an opponent, especially in late position.

The cards are dealt to each player one at a time, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer. Once all the players have their cards, a series of betting rounds begins. During each round, the players must decide whether to keep their current hand or replace it with another one.

The most common hands in poker are a pair, three of a kind, straight, and flush. A pair is two cards of the same rank, three of a kind are three matching cards of any rank, and a straight is five consecutive cards of the same suit. A flush is five cards of the same suit in sequence but not in ranking, while a full house contains three matching pairs and an unmatched fifth card.