The Basics of Poker

Poker is a card game in which players wager money. The game is popular in North America, where it originated, and it is played in casinos and private homes, in tournaments, and online.

The game begins when each player puts an amount of money into a pot, called the ante. The dealer then shuffles and deals each player five cards. Players can then place bets based on the cards they have and their knowledge of what other players are doing. At the end of the betting round, the winner takes all of the money in the pot.

To make a bet, a player must say “call” or “I call.” If the person to your left has made a bet and it is now your turn, you would say “raise” or “I raise,” which means you want to increase the amount of money you are betting by the same amount as the previous player. If you say “fold,” you will give up your cards and stop the game from continuing.

The goal of the game is to get a good hand of cards, which can include a pair (two cards of the same rank), three of a kind (three cards of the same rank), four of a kind (four cards of the same rank), a flush (five consecutive cards of the same suit) or a royal flush (ten, jack, queen, king and ace of the same suit). Some games also allow wild cards.