Poker is a card game that requires skill to play. There are many different versions of the game, but all involve betting and a hand of cards. The goal is to have the highest-ranking hand at the end of the betting phase.

Each player is dealt five cards and must place a bet before discarding their cards. The purpose of this is to see what other players have in their hands and compare them to your own (a high bet generally means a good hand, while a low one could mean the opposite). It is also possible to “bluff” in Poker; this involves pretending that you have a better hand than you really do.

A Poker hand consists of 5 consecutive cards of the same suit. The highest card wins the hand. Other important poker hands are three-of-a-kind and four of a kind.

In most forms of Poker, players must put a small amount of money into the pot before they receive their cards. These mandatory bets are called the ante, blinds, or bring-ins.

The dealer deals two cards to each player, known as hole cards, and then a series of three additional community cards are dealt face up, referred to as the flop, turn, and river. There is another round of betting, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. Players can also call raises, adding more money to the pot. When a player has a strong hand, they can bet aggressively, which forces weaker hands to fold and raises the value of their winning hand.