Poker is a card game with many variations, but all involve betting on the strength of your hand. The game requires a combination of skill, strategy and psychology to win. The game is often viewed as a gambling activity, but this is a misconception. It is actually a game of chance, but it has been developed with the help of probability and game theory. It is also a social game that is played between friends, family and colleagues.
Depending on the rules of the game, one or more players must place an initial amount of money into the pot before cards are dealt. This is called a forced bet and it comes in the form of an ante, blind bet or bring-in.
Each player receives two private hole cards to start with, and then decides whether or not to fold (drop out of the hand), call (match the highest bet so far) or raise (increase the previous high bet). As the betting rounds continue, five more community cards are dealt face up on the table, called the flop.
A winning poker hand consists of a high pair, three of a kind, four of a kind, straight or flush. A high pair is made up of two matching cards of the same rank, three of a kind are 3 of the same card of different ranks, and a straight or flush consists of 5 consecutively ranked cards of the same suit.