A game of chance or skill where players place chips into a pot in order to compete for a winning hand. Players can raise and call other player’s bets, or fold their cards if they think their hand is unplayable. A good poker strategy involves minimizing losses when you have losing hands, and maximising your winnings when you have a strong one.

The game begins with a forced bet, usually an ante or blind bet. The dealer then shuffles and deals cards to each player, beginning with the player on the right of the button (a position corresponding to the person to his or her left). Cards may be dealt face up or face down, depending on the game variant. There will typically be several rounds of betting, and the last remaining player collects the winnings.

There are many different variations of the game of Poker, each with its own rules and objectives. A few of the most popular include Straight Poker, Five-Card Stud, Seven-Card Stud, Omaha, Lowball, Crazy Pineapple, and Dr. Pepper.

There are a number of basic poker hand rankings. A royal flush contains all five cards of the highest rank in sequence and suits. A straight flush is any five cards of consecutive rank in the same suit. A four of a kind is three matching cards of the same rank, and a pair is two matching cards of another rank plus one non-matching card. There are also some other, less common, hand ranks: high card, no-pair, and three of a kind.