Poker is a card game that can be played with any number of players. In most forms of the game, each player has two cards that are hidden from other players and five community cards. Players aim to make a best ranked poker hand using these cards and the rules of the game. The player with the highest ranked hand wins the “pot” – all bets placed during one deal.

To begin the game, each player places an amount of money in the pot called the ante or blinds. This amount is compulsory to place before the cards are dealt and it may be raised if the game rules allow for it.

A dealer is chosen at the beginning of a hand by a player or non-player who has been given a dealer chip. The dealer is responsible for shuffling and dealing the cards and can be passed to a new person each round.

Once the dealer has dealt the cards, each player can check their own cards and decide whether or not to call a bet by the person to their right. Players can also raise a bet if they think that their hand will be high-ranked.

The highest-ranked poker hand is a royal flush, which consists of four matching cards of the same rank and five consecutive cards of the same suit. The next highest hands are a straight, three of a kind and a pair. A pair is made up of two cards of the same rank, such as two sixes.