Poker is a card game played between two or more players, where the winner of each hand earns a prize. It is a competitive skill game that takes skill, strategy and luck to win at.

The basic rules of poker are that the dealer deals each player a set of cards, and then a round of betting ensues. Each player may fold, check, or raise the amount of their bet, which is collected into a central pot.

Before the first betting round begins, each player makes a forced bet, usually an ante, which is a small amount of money that is required to play. The ante is typically set by the table, and once all players have made their ante, the dealer deals two cards to each player.

Betting rounds occur in intervals of time, and the player who bets last in a round will receive the current bet amount for the entire betting round. After a betting round, the player who bet last in a round can collect the pot without showing their hand; the remaining players’ hands are then revealed, and if more than one hand is still in contention, a showdown occurs where all players present their hands and the player with the highest five-card poker hand wins the pot.

There are several ways to win in poker; the most common are: a high card, a pair of cards, and a flush. There are also other combinations of cards that can result in a winning hand, including: a straight, three of a kind, and two pairs.