Poker is a card game in which players compete to assemble the highest-ranking hand of cards, earning cash or chips. It is considered a game of chance, but over time the application of skills can reduce the variance caused by luck. Poker is most commonly played with six to 14 people around a table, although it can be played with as few as two players or more than 100. It is often referred to as a game of skill, as it requires knowledge of probability and the ability to read other players’ betting patterns. The game is also a popular spectator sport, and it has gained in popularity with the advent of online play and broadcasts of major poker tournaments.

There are many different variants of poker, but the basic principles of the game remain the same. The objective is to win the pot, or the aggregate of bets made in one deal, by having a high-ranking poker hand or by bluffing and forcing other players to fold. A poker hand consists of five cards. The value of each card is in inverse proportion to its mathematical frequency, so the more rare a combination of cards is, the higher it ranks.

Depending on the variant, before the cards are dealt, each player must place an amount of money into the pot (representing the bets) called an ante or blind bet. After the antes are placed, the dealer passes a number of cards to each player in turn. When it is a player’s turn, they can “call” (match the bet of the last person) or raise it (bette more than the previous bet).