Poker is a card game that involves a combination of skill and luck. A player wins a hand by using cards of higher rank than those of his opponents. The game has many variations, but most of them involve the same basic rules. Players make bets by placing chips (representing money) in the pot, where they are counted at the end of each round. Chips are usually plastic or ceramic discs, but they can be made of cash, as well. Players place their chips in front of them for the other players and dealer to see. They announce their bets, such as “call,” “raise,” or “check.” The game ends when one player has a hand that beats all others.

A player can win a round by having the strongest five-card poker hand, called a full house, a flush, three of a kind, or two pair. A full house consists of 3 matching cards of one rank, a flush consists of 5 consecutive cards of the same suit, and a straight consists of 5 cards that skip around in rank but are all from the same suit.

When a player has a strong hand, he raises his bet to encourage other players to join in the round. He also may bluff by claiming that he has a better hand than he does, in order to draw other players into the game. This is known as a semi-bluff. Those who don’t have a good hand can fold by placing their cards face down on the table or putting them in the trash.