Poker is a card game in which players wager chips (representing money) into a pot. The player with the highest hand wins the pot. There are many variations of the game, but most involve a single dealer and several opponents. Players must ante (put in an amount, usually a small amount like a nickel) before they are dealt cards. Then they place bets in the pot, either calling, raising or folding.
Once all the players have two cards, there is a round of betting. The first player to the left of the dealer makes a bet, and then each player in turn must call that bet by putting into the pot a number of chips equal to or greater than that bet. If a player does not call the bet, they must drop out of the game.
After the flop is dealt, there is another round of betting. If any player has a pair of the same kind of cards, they win the pot. Otherwise, the pot goes to the player with the best other hand.
There are some forms of the game that allow a maximum of fourteen players, but the ideal number is six to eight. There are also games that have no betting, or that only involve one hand. These are called no-limit or no-restricted poker. There are also many ways that players can misinform each other about the strength of their hands, such as by raising a bet when they have a weak hand.