Poker is a card game where players place bets into a central pot, and the highest hand wins the pot. The game is played with a standard 52-card deck plus one or more jokers, depending on the variant. Poker is a game of chance, but it can also be influenced by the actions and bluffs of other players.

The first step to becoming a great poker player is learning to read your opponents. Look for tells (eye movements, idiosyncrasies, betting behavior etc) and try to learn what kind of hands they hold. This will help you know what kind of bets to make and when to call their raises.

In most poker games, a player must first ante a small amount of money (the exact amount varies by game). The dealer then shuffles the cards and deals each player five cards, one at a time, starting with the player to his or her right. A player can then choose to place a bet into the pot (the central pot of chips representing money) in any increment, and can raise their bet by adding more chips to the pot.

With the exception of initial forced bets, money is placed into the pot voluntarily by players who believe their bet has positive expected value or are trying to bluff other players for various strategic reasons. This is why poker is often described as a game of skill, even though luck plays a large role in the outcome of any particular hand.