Poker is a card game of chance that can also involve a great deal of skill and psychology. It can be played with as few as two players, but is most commonly played by four or more. In most forms of poker, the object is to win the pot, which consists of all of the bets made by players in one betting round. Players compete for the pot by having the highest ranking poker hand, or by putting all of their remaining chips into the pot in one move called an all-in bet.

Each player starts by anteing (amount varies by game) a certain amount to get their cards dealt. Then the players place bets into the pot, which is usually a central pile in the middle of the table. Then, if a player has a high hand or can force other players to fold by bluffing, they win the pot.

During the betting phase of each round, players can call a bet by matching it; raise it by putting in more chips than the previous player; or fold their hand and not participate in the bet. During a betting round, the dealer is responsible for shuffling the deck and dealing the cards to each player in rotation. The dealer can be a non-player, but usually each player has a special dealer chip that is passed on to a different player after every round of betting.

Depending on the rules of your particular game, some betting intervals may require a blind bet, which is placed before each player gets their cards. Unlike the ante, only some players are required to make this bet. If a player chooses not to make this bet, they can simply check instead of making a bet when it comes their turn to act.