Poker is a card game of chance and skill that has many variants. Generally, the game is played between two or more players around a table and involves betting between turns. In the long run, it is believed that skill dominates chance. This has been supported by studies which have shown that in the case of high stakes games, the effects of luck diminish rapidly as the number of hands is increased.

Before the cards are dealt each player puts in a small amount of money, called a blind or an ante. Then they are dealt cards, which they keep hidden from other players. After a round of betting the players discard their cards and draw replacements from the top of the deck.

The best five-card hand wins the pot. In addition to a pair of kings, a full house includes three matching cards of one rank and two matching cards of another, and a flush includes five consecutive cards of the same suit. A straight contains five cards of consecutive rank but from more than one suit.

When it is your turn to bet, you can say “call” to match the previous player’s raise or “raise” to increase the size of your bet. You can also “check” if you don’t want to raise your bet. If you check, other players may continue betting until the hand is over. If you want to stay in the hand, you must then match the other players’ bets or fold your cards.