Poker is a card game played with two or more players. Each player is dealt a hand of cards and competes to make the best five-card poker hand possible, using their cards and the cards in the rest of the pot.

The highest possible poker hand is a straight flush, which is made up of five consecutive cards of the same suit. Other hands include high card, pair of cards (two of the same kind), two pairs, three of a kind, and four of a kind.

There are a number of different types of poker, including Texas Hold’Em, which is the most popular form of the game. These games all follow the same rules and have certain basic characteristics in common.

First, there is an ante, which is a minimum bet for the game to begin. Once everyone has their ante, they are given their cards and can choose to either bet, fold or call.

During each betting interval, players can bet or raise the amount of money in the pot, but they must match or exceed the amount of money that was placed by the previous bettor. If no other players have placed a bet in the same betting interval, the betting period ends and the player who placed the last bet wins the entire pot.

In most poker games, the rank of a card is determined by its odds (probability). The rank of a card often breaks a tie between two or more identical hands. If the rank of a card is unknown, then it is treated as the lowest available card and divided equally between the players.