Poker is a card game that can be played with any number of people. The object is to win the pot, which is the aggregate sum of all bets made during a single deal. This can be done by having the highest-ranking poker hand, or by making a bet that no other players call.

There are many different variations of poker, but all of them involve betting and bluffing in order to win a pot. Money is placed into the pot voluntarily by each player when they believe that a bet has positive expected value for them or when they want to bluff other players.

Once the cards are dealt, betting begins with the player to the left of the dealer. After the initial betting phase, 3 additional cards are flipped face-up in the center of the table (revealed to all players). These are called the “flop,” and they form the basis for each player’s 5-card poker hand.

After the flop, players continue to reveal their cards until one player has a winning poker hand. This player is awarded the pot and the rest of the players share the remaining chips in some fashion.