Poker is a card game played by two or more players and involves betting. It has many variants, but in general a player places chips (representing money) into the pot (the total amount of bets placed during one deal) to enter the hand. The object of the game is to win the pot by having a higher-ranking poker hand than any other player at the table.

Each player is dealt two cards. Then, each player can decide to “call,” “raise,” or “fold.” If you have a good poker hand and want to keep it, say “raise” or “fold.”

You must also learn to read your opponents’ tells, which are their body language, facial expressions, and betting behavior. For example, if a player that has been calling all night suddenly makes a large raise, it is likely that they are holding an unbeatable poker hand.

After everyone calls, you flip over your hands and the winner is the person with the best poker hand. If you have a straight, it’s easy to see. But it’s not so simple with a flush, three-of-a-kind, or any other poker hand that requires more than two distinct cards to identify.