Poker is a card game in which players try to form pairs of cards with their cards. The highest pair of cards wins, while second-placed pairs get the same amount of money. If there is a tie, the highest card breaks it. The high card is used to break ties when no one has a pair of cards, or when several players tie for the highest card.

Each betting interval starts with a bet from the player. After the first bet, each player must raise or put in equal amounts of chips. In some variations, one player has the privilege to make the first bet. The bets of each player are then gathered into the pot, and each player is called an active player.

It is thought that poker was first played in Persia. Although there are no definitive origins for the game, it is thought to have originated as a game of bluffing. In the 17th century, Germans played a game similar to poker called pochen, which evolved into a more complex form of poker called poque. This game spread across Europe and to the New World via French settlers.

Poker has hundreds of variations. While the rules of each game vary by location, the basic principles of the game remain the same. The best poker hands win the pot, which is the total of all bets made by all players in a particular deal. A winning hand is one in which the player has the highest ranking hand or makes a bet that no other player calls.