Poker is a card game played by two or more players and involves betting. There are many different variations of poker, but they all share some basic rules. Players place bets using chips, and the player with the best hand wins the pot. Players can also choose to “call” a bet, which means they put in the same number of chips as the previous player, or raise their bet, which adds more chips to the pot. A player can also “drop” their hand, meaning they put in no chips and forfeit any bets they already made.

A poker hand consists of five cards. The value of a poker hand is determined by its mathematical frequency, which is the number of times it occurs in a sample of cards. It is also possible to bluff in poker, wherein a player bets that they have the best hand and induces other players to call their bet.

The dealer begins the game by shuffling a pack of cards and offering it to the player on his or her right for a cut (if required by the rules of the game). After the shuffle, the cards are dealt one at a time, starting with the player to the left of the dealer.

When a player is not in a position to make a good poker hand, he or she may choose to raise the bets of other players by saying “raise.” This requires that the player match or exceed the amount that the player to his or her right raised.