A game of poker is played between a number of players on a table. Each player places a bet into the pot, which is raised by each successive player after the initial raiser. The person with the highest ranked hand of cards wins the “pot” of all the bets made in that particular betting interval. If no one has a high hand, the players may also discard and draw new cards from a shuffled deck.

In many cases, a player will bet only when they believe that their bet has positive expected value or when they are bluffing in order to win other players’ money. Consequently, the majority of the strategy in poker is based on mathematics and psychology rather than chance.

Each player starts the game by buying in for a set amount of chips, usually white or light-colored, which represent money. The person to the left of the dealer (or button) has the right to open the betting and must raise his or her bet at least a minimum amount. Players may also choose to check, which means that they do not bet but remain in the pot and wait for other players to act.

The earliest poker games involved three or four cards and were similar to the card game of brag, which was a popular gentleman’s game during the American Revolutionary War. More recent poker variants have increased the number of cards dealt and allowed players to raise or re-raise their bets.