Poker is a card game in which the players wager money (or chips) on a hand. The aim is to win the pot, or the total of all bets made during one deal. The game varies greatly in rules, but all poker games feature betting rounds and a showdown.

When a player has the best poker hand, he wins the pot. The winning hand can be any five cards of the same rank, including a pair. It can also be three matching cards of one rank and two unmatched cards of another, a straight (five consecutive cards but not from the same suit), or four of a kind (3 matching cards of the same rank plus 2 matching cards of another rank).

A poker player can make a bet by saying “call” or “raise.” If the person to your left raises their bet you can either call it or fold. You may also raise your own bet to match or exceed the previous bet.

It is important to understand how position plays a role in poker. A player in late position has more information than those who act first, and can make much more accurate value bets.

Poker is a game of chance, and even the most expert players can make mistakes. It’s important to keep your emotions in check and to play the game in a cold, mathematical, and logical manner. If you do this, you’ll find that the divide between break-even beginner players and big-time winners is not as great as you might think.