Poker is a card game in which players place bets (representing money) into a pot after each round of betting. The player with the best hand wins the pot. Various rules and strategies exist for the game, which can be played with two or more cards. The game may be considered a form of gambling, and legal decisions regarding its status are made by law enforcement agencies and governments.
The game can be played with a maximum of 14 players, though the ideal number is between six and eight. Before the deal, each player must place a monetary bet called an ante. A dealer is selected from among the players and given a chip for this role. In most forms of poker, the dealer is responsible for shuffling and dealing the cards.
Each player is dealt two cards face-down, which are called their hole or pocket cards. These are private to the player and do not reveal any information to other players. Following the initial betting phase, three additional cards are dealt face-up to the table and revealed to all players. This is the flop. The flop forms the community cards that each player uses to build a five-card poker hand.
After the flop, another betting phase begins, and players can bet on the strength of their hand. Players with strong hands may raise to protect their bets and also probe for weakness in the other players’ hands, which are known as their tells.