Poker is a card game played by a group of players around a table. Each player has a set amount of chips that they can bet with in order to win the pot. Betting takes place in a round until someone has all of the chips or everyone folds. A good poker player mixes up their style, betting and bluffing to keep their opponents guessing what they are holding.

Each player starts the game by “buying in” for a set number of chips. They may then choose to raise the bet if they want. Saying “raise” adds more money to the pool. The other players will then bet in turn until someone calls the raise or they all check.

If you have a good hand, you can call the bet and show your cards. The highest hand is a royal flush, which is made of a ten, jack, queen, king and ace of the same suit. The next highest is a straight flush, which is five consecutive cards of the same suit (like clubs, diamonds, hearts or spades). Four of a kind is the third best hand. A full house is three cards of the same rank and a pair is two cards of the same value (like seven’s and six’s).

Tied hands are decided by the ranking of the highest card in each hand. A high card beats a lower one, but a high pair beats a low pair.