Poker is a card game played with two or more players. It has a reputation for being a game of chance, but it can also involve significant amounts of skill, psychology, and mathematics. The object is to win the pot, which consists of all bets made in a single hand. The player who has the highest poker hand wins the pot.

To begin a hand each player must put in some chips, called an ante, into the middle of the table. When betting gets around to you (it happens in a clockwise manner), you can either call the bet, raise it or fold. You can raise a bet to protect your hand, to increase your chances of winning the pot, or to try to bluff out other players.

Once the first round of betting is complete the dealer will deal three cards face up on the table that everyone can use, this is called the flop. Once the flop has been dealt you must decide whether to stay in the hand and make more bets or fold.

A poker hand consists of any five cards in sequence and rank, from the highest to lowest, Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10 (sometimes games add jokers or wild cards). Some hands are more valuable than others. High pair, for example, consists of two distinct pairs of cards and the highest hand wins ties. Another common hand is a flush, which consists of any five cards of the same suit, and a straight that consists of five consecutive cards of different suits.