Poker is a card game with betting, and it can be played by two or more people. While there is some element of chance involved, the majority of the game involves skill and psychology. There are many variations of the game, but most of them share some common underlying rules.
The game starts with each player placing in a small amount of money (the blinds and big blind) into the pot. Once everyone has placed their money, the dealer deals each person two cards face down. This is called the flop.
Once the flop is dealt the betting begins again and players can raise or fold their hands. The highest hand wins the pot. If there is a tie, the dealer wins. If nobody has a high hand, the highest card breaks the tie (Ace beats King, Queen, Jack and so on). Some games use Wild Cards.
Usually the game uses a standard pack of 52 cards, and there are four suits: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. Each suit has a rank, but the Ace is always higher than all other cards. Some poker games also include jokers as wild cards, allowing them to take on any suit or rank.
The most important aspect of poker is position. Position gives you more information than your opponents, and allows you to make better value bets. For example, you should raise more hands in late position, and call less hands in early position.