Poker is a card game in which players place bets against one another. In the long run, a player’s actions at any particular hand significantly depend on chance, but they can be influenced by strategy based on probability, psychology and game theory. Players often try to make others believe that they have a better hand than they do by bluffing, causing other players to call (i.e. match) their bets or fold their hands.

The game is usually played with poker chips. Each player buys in for a set amount of chips. Each chip represents a value: a white chip is worth a single ante or bet, while red and blue chips represent multiples of the minimum. A standard 53-card pack of playing cards is used, and the joker (known as the bug) counts as a wild card for some special hands.

During the first betting interval, each player must place a forced bet (either an ante or blind bet). After this, the dealer shuffles and deals each player a set number of cards, starting with the person to their left. The players then look at their cards and decide whether to continue betting. If a player wants to add more money to the pot, they must say “raise,” which causes other players to either call or raise their own bets.

The players may also discard up to three of their cards and draw new ones from the bottom of a drawing stack. Once the betting period ends, each player shows their cards to the other players and the player with the best hand takes the pot.