Poker is a card game in which players compete for an amount of money or chips contributed by each player to the pot. Unlike other casino games, where winning a hand is entirely dependent on chance, poker involves a significant degree of skill and psychology. In addition, players may choose to make bets based on their predictions of what other players are likely to do, a process known as reading them.

The game is typically played from a standard deck of 52 cards, although some variants use multiple packs and/or include wild cards. Cards are ranked from highest to lowest as follows: Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10. The game may also include additional cards called jokers which take on whatever suit and rank their possessor chooses.

A poker game usually begins with one or more forced bets (the amount varies by game). Once the players have placed their bets, the dealer shuffles and deals each player five cards face up. Players then place additional bets to call, raise or fold after checking their cards.

During each betting round, players try to create the best five-card poker hand. The highest hand wins the pot. Occasionally, all but one player will reveal their cards (a showdown), but more commonly two or more players will fold and the highest hand wins by default. Players can also decide to play for a pot of less than their entire stake by using the equalization method, in which case they must raise their bet to match that raised by the last active player.