Poker is a card game of skill and chance in which players place bets using chips that represent their money while playing. Players compete to have the best five-card hand, and the player with the highest hand wins the pot, which contains all the bets that players placed during a round.

Before betting begins, each player must put down a forced bet, which can be either an ante or blind bet (sometimes both). The dealer then shuffles the cards and deals them out to the players, one at a time, starting with the player to their left. The cards can be dealt face-up or face-down depending on the variant of poker being played.

Players take turns revealing their hands clockwise around the table, and may raise their bets or fold their cards. When a player has a high enough hand, they can win the pot by continuing to bet until all other players have folded and are out of the game.

In the event of a tie, the winnings are shared. A player can also win by having two pairs of cards with the highest pair being higher than the other.

Learning to read your opponents is important in poker. A good way to do this is by identifying conservative players from aggressive ones. Conservative players will typically fold early in the hand, while aggressive players will often raise their bets and can be bluffed into folding by more skilled players.