Poker is a game of chance, but it also involves a lot of skill. The best players understand the game’s rules, can read their opponents, and use betting concepts to extract chips from other players when they have a good hand. They also have discipline, perseverance, and sharp focus to avoid getting distracted or bored during games.

A player’s goal is to form the highest ranking hand based on card rankings, to win the pot at the end of each betting round. The pot is the sum of all bets made by players in each hand. The highest hand wins the pot, but if two players share the same hand, then the pot is split evenly between them.

The game is played with a small group of people around a table, and each person has their own stack of chips. When it is their turn to act, they must decide whether to raise the bet or fold their hand. A raise indicates they think their hand is strong enough to win the pot. A fold means they don’t want to raise the bet and will wait until it is their opponent’s turn to act again.

If a player is last to act, they have more control over the price of the pot. They can use this advantage to inflate the pot on later betting streets, or they can exercise “pot control” by calling re-raises with weak or mediocre hands to limit the amount of aggression at their table.