Poker is a card game that can be played between two or more players and involves betting on the strength of one’s hand. It is usually played with a standard deck of 52 cards, although some variant games use multiple packs or add special cards called wilds. It is a fast-paced game, with players taking turns betting money on their hands. It is a game of chance, but skillful players can improve their expected returns by using psychological and mathematical strategies.

The game has several rounds, and each round ends with the player who has the best hand winning the pot. Before the start of a round, each player must make forced bets, which are typically the ante and blind. After the bets are made, the dealer shuffles the cards and deals each player 2 cards face down (hidden from the other players). A player may then choose to call a raise or fold.

A poker hand is a combination of cards, with the best hand consisting of 5 cards. The first two cards are known as the hole or pocket cards, and are hidden from all other players. Three other cards are dealt face up in the center of the table, and these are known as community cards. Each player must then build a 5-card hand from these shared cards.

Winning hands will contain some combination of high pairs, three distinct cards and a high card. Ties are broken by looking at the highest pair, then the second highest pair and so on.