Poker is a card game where players bet against each other to create the best hand possible. Although there are many variants, the rules for most poker games remain essentially the same.

Poker begins with each player making a small bet called the ante (or blind) before being dealt cards. This bet enables the player to keep his hand secret from other players.

After the ante has been placed, each player receives one facedown card (the hole card) and one faceup card. The dealer then burns one card from the top of the deck and deals three community cards (the flop), which are then revealed to all players.

The flop is followed by several betting rounds, each of which may be repeated. Betting is continued until the round ends or a showdown is held in which all players reveal their hands.

A player can call a bet if he meets the previous bet; raise if he is at least as big as the last bettor or, in some variants, check if he wishes to stay in without betting.

In many poker variants, a player may be required to place the total of his bets in the pot before any of his opponents may make a bet. This is known as a “pot” and represents the money in the game at that moment, usually representing a certain amount of poker chips.

In a standard poker game, the highest hand is five of a kind, which beats any straight flush. If two or more hands have the same rank of four of a kind, ties are broken by the highest card outside each four of a kind.