Poker is a card game that combines a lot of chance with a lot of psychology and skill. It can be played in either cash or tournament play. It is a game that lends itself to interesting discussions of strategy and tactics, including topics such as tells — unconscious habits that a player shows during gameplay that reveal information about their hand.

Players start with chips (money to bet) and are dealt 2 cards. After this there is a round of betting, starting with the two players to the left of the dealer. If you want to bet more than the minimum amount, say “raise” and everyone else can choose whether to call your raise or fold.

Once everyone has called the raises, a single more card is dealt face up. Then each player can choose to discard and draw 1 to 3 cards, or “hold pat” on what they have. The cards that are discarded go into the draw stack. The dealer then shuffles the deck and offers it to the player to his or her right for a cut.

The player with the highest 5 card hand wins the pot (all of the money that has been bet so far). A high card “pair” consists of two matching cards of one rank and two unmatched cards of another. A flush consists of five consecutive cards of the same suit. Three of a kind is three cards of the same rank.