Poker is a card game that requires skill and strategy to win. It is a game that has many variations, but all share some common features. Players place chips in the pot before being dealt cards and then take turns betting on their hand. The player with the highest hand wins the pot. Players can also bluff, pretending to have a strong hand when they don’t.

A poker game can be played with 2, 3, 4, or 5 players. The dealer changes with each hand. Depending on the rules, each player may be required to put an initial amount into the pot before the cards are dealt. This is called an ante or blind.

Once the cards are dealt, there is a round of betting that begins with the player to the left of the dealer. A player who calls the last bet (matches it) is said to call, while a player who raises the previous bet is said to raise. A player who does not call or raise is said to check.

After the betting is complete, each player can choose to discard from 1 to 3 of their cards and draw replacements. The remaining cards are then reshuffled and dealt out again. If no one else calls during a betting interval, the player who raised the bet takes the pot as his winnings. Otherwise, the players remain in their current hands. If someone has a good hand, they can bet heavily to force weaker hands out of the game.