Poker is a game played between two or more players who place bets, called “pot” bets, with each player having chips (representing money) to bet. Each player has a turn to make a bet in each betting interval. Each player must either call a bet (put into the pot at least as many chips as the player who made the bet before him), or raise a bet, which means putting in more than the previous player. A player can also drop out of the round by not putting any chips into the pot, which is called folding.
Some poker games have blind bets that must be made by players before they are dealt cards. These bets are often made by the same player each time, and they are usually a small percentage of the pot.
Each player has two personal cards (“hand”) that they use to create a 5-card poker hand with the five community cards. The player who has the best poker hand wins the pot, which contains all of the bets placed by players in that round. Typically, a player will have to put down a minimum amount of money (known as the buy-in) to play poker.
Despite the fact that poker involves a significant element of chance, most players believe they can improve their chances of winning by playing smartly. They do this by making bets based on probability, psychology, and game theory. They also bluff, sometimes successfully, to force weaker hands out of the game.