Poker is a card game in which players wager chips in a pot based on the value of their hand. The player who has the highest ranked hand when all the cards are shown wins the pot. During the course of the game, a player may place additional chips in the pot in response to the actions of other players. This is called raising a bet. If a player raises a bet, the player who made the original bet must either call the new bet or drop out of the pot. The player who drops out of the pot gives up any rights he has in the original pot to the player whose later bet he did not call. This can result in different winners of the original pot and various side pots.

A player’s poker hand can be ranked as high, low, or pair. High is based on the highest single card in a player’s hand. Low is based on the lowest 2 cards in the hand. A pair is a hand with two cards of the same rank, such as two sixes.

Tournaments are events held at stores or conventions where players can play their favorite poker games against other people. The organizer sets a structure for the tournament that specifies a number of rounds and a time limit for each round. The structure also specifies what prizes the organizer will award to the top-scoring players at the end of the tournament.