Poker is a card game in which players wager chips representing money. A player can call (match the amount of the previous bet), raise (increase the previous bet), or drop their cards (fold). Poker is often bluffed in order to make superior hands. A poker hand is determined by the number and rank of its cards. It may be classified in one of several categories, such as straight, full house, or three of a kind. Any hand of a higher category beats a hand of a lower category.

Each player is dealt two cards that they can only see. Five community cards are then brought into play that all players can use. The winner is the player who has a high enough combination of their two cards and the community cards to be the strongest five-card poker hand.

There are many variants of poker, but they all have the same basic rules. The game is played in homes, at poker clubs, in casinos, and on the Internet. It is sometimes called the national card game of the United States, and its rules, jargon, and history are firmly rooted in American culture.

The dealer button, which is a white plastic disk that marks the nominal dealer in the game, is rotated clockwise among the players to determine who has the right to deal the cards for each hand. In most home games, the cards are dealt by a volunteer. In casino poker, the cards are dealt by a professional.