Poker is a card game in which players try to make the best hand possible out of a standard deck of cards. The game is played around the world, with a variety of different rules and variants.

The game is played from a standard pack of 52 cards (some variant games use more than one pack or add cards called jokers). Cards are ranked from high to low. They come in four suits – spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs.

In a poker game, there are usually several rounds of betting. Each round begins with a player making a bet of some type; other players may “call” this bet by putting into the pot the same amount of chips, or “raise” by putting in more than the previous bettor’s bet.

A player can also “drop” (“fold”) by putting no chips into the pot and discarding their hand. When a player drops, they lose any chips that have put into that pot and are out of the betting until the next round.

When all of the chips are in, there is a final betting phase for that round. In this final betting phase, the best hand wins the pot – usually the highest possible 5-card hand.

Poker is a game of skill, as much as luck. You need to be able to read the situation well and be able to make the right call at the right time. Fortunately, there are many resources available to help you improve your game.