Poker is a card game for two or more players, in which each player has chips (representing money) that they use to place bets. The object of the game is to make a winning poker hand using your own two cards and the five community cards on the table. The best poker hands are high-ranking pairs, three of a kind, and full houses. You can also win a pot by betting so much that other players fold, or by making a bet that no one calls.

Poker has become an international game, and it is played in many different ways. Some of these variations are more complicated than others, but most use the same basic rules. There are also some differences in etiquette and in the sorts of players who play.

During each betting interval, or round, one player, designated by the rules of the specific poker variant being played, has the privilege and obligation to make the first bet. Players may then choose to “call” that bet by placing into the pot the same number of chips as the player before him, or to raise it. If a player is unwilling or unable to raise the bet, he must “drop” his hand, meaning that he forfeits any rights he might have had in the original pot and any side pots.

One of the most important skills in poker is being able to read other players’ tells, which are unconscious habits or gestures that reveal information about their hand. Learning how to read these tells can give you a huge advantage over the other players at the table.