Poker is a card game that requires both skill and luck to win. It can be played with a standard 52-card deck or other variations of the game, and can be a cash or tournament game. The objective is to earn chips from other players by making the best possible hand or convincing them that yours is better. There are dozens of poker variations, but the basic mechanics remain the same. Players put in a bet, called the blind or ante, before being dealt cards that they keep hidden from their opponents.

A player can choose to check, which means they are not betting on their hand, or they can raise, which is putting chips in the pot that other players must match if they want to stay in the round. If a player does not have a good hand, they can fold their cards and forfeit the round.

A player will need poker chips to play, and there are various color schemes used for different denominations. Typically, white chips are worth one minimum ante or bet; red chips are worth five whites; and blue chips are worth 10 or 20 whites. Players may also have a kitty, which is a fund to pay for things like new decks of cards or food and drinks. A kitty is built up by “cutting” (taking one low-denomination chip from each pot in which there is more than one raise) and belongs to the players equally.