Poker is a game of chance played by a group of people around a table. A poker hand is a set of five cards. The highest hand wins the pot.

To start playing poker, players must first place a minimum ante. The amount of ante varies by game. If there are multiple players, they may play multiple rounds of betting. During each round, the cards are dealt one by one, with each player receiving a card facedown.

After a few rounds of play, the dealer shuffles the cards and distributes them to the remaining players. If any player does not want to accept a hand, he or she folds. If there are multiple players with the same high card, the ties are broken.

Each player is then dealt a second card. After a third round of dealing, a round of betting begins. This continues until the entire round has been completed.

The final round is a showdown, when all the cards are revealed. If no one has a pair, the showdown is won by the hand with the best poker hand. The lowest hand is 7-5-4-3-2.

Poker games are divided into four types. There are two-card draw, seven-card stud, and five-card draw. The rules for each type of poker are similar, but there are variations.

The goal of each poker game is to win the pot. This is achieved by creating the best possible hand. All hands contain five cards. The best hand wins the pot, which is the aggregate of all the bets made by all the players in the deal.