Poker is a card game played with two or more players and involving chance and risk. There are many variants of the game, from Texas Hold ’em to Omaha and Crazy Pineapple, but most involve a mandatory bet of chips called a blind or ante and cards that are kept hidden from the other players. The goal is to win the pot, or all of the bets made at a particular betting interval (called a deal).

Each player begins the game with a supply of poker chips. Each chip is worth a specific amount of money, usually 10 or 20 white chips; a blue or other dark-colored chip is often worth five whites. When a player wants to place a bet, they say “call” or “raise.” Calling means matching the last bet made by the player to their left; raising adds additional money to the betting pool. If a player does not want to bet, they may simply fold.

During each betting interval, or deal, the players have an opportunity to form the best possible poker hand with their own two cards and the five community cards on the table. A poker hand can be made up of two pair, three of a kind, straight, or flush. A flush contains 5 cards of consecutive rank in the same suit; a straight contain 5 cards that skip around in order but are all the same suits; and a three of a kind is made up of 3 cards of the same rank and 2 unmatched cards.