Poker is a card game in which players wager money on the outcome of a hand. The game can be played in cash games and tournaments. Each player places an ante and/or blind bet before the cards are dealt. Players then have the option to call, raise or fold their hands. In cash games, the betting usually continues until everyone has folded or one person has all of the chips.
The game is named for its seedy origins, as pickpockets in the underworld used the word to describe their cheating activities. It is also believed that poker was popularized by Mississippi riverboat crews in the early 19th century.
A hand of Poker consists of five cards. The best hand wins the pot of money bet on it. Players can use their own cards and the community cards to build a hand. The community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table and are known as the flop. After the flop, another betting phase begins.
Players can choose to call a bet by putting the same amount of money into the pot as the person to their left. They can also raise a bet by putting in more than the previous player did. Players can also check, which means they are not betting.
Bets are made in betting intervals, which end when each player puts in at least as many chips as their predecessors or drops. This is the same process that occurs in real life and is a key element of Poker, which mimics many aspects of human decision making.