Poker is a card game played between two or more players and played in casinos, private homes, poker clubs, and on the Internet. It is the national card game of the United States, and its rules, history, and jargon are deeply embedded in American culture. Poker is a game of chance and skill in which players place bets based on the expected value of their hands. They may also bluff, in which case they bet that their cards are better than those of their opponents. If they are correct, they win.

Depending on the variant of poker being played, one or more players are required to make an initial amount of money into the pot. These are called forced bets and usually come in the form of ante or blind bets. The dealer then shuffles the cards and cuts them, and players are dealt their cards, starting with the player to their left. After the initial deal, a series of betting rounds take place, and at the end of each round, all bets are placed into a central pot.

The best possible hand in poker consists of five matching cards of equal rank. Other common hands include pairs, three of a kind, four of a kind, straights, and flushes. The highest hand wins, but it is not always the strongest hand. In poker, as in life, tenacity and courage often triumph over those who simply have the strongest starting hand.