Poker is a card game that can be played by two to 14 players. The object is to win the pot, which is the sum of all bets made during a hand. The pot can be won either by having the best poker hand or by betting in a way that no one else calls your bets.

The game uses a standard 52-card English deck, with the optional addition of jokers or wild cards. It can be played with any number of players, although it is usually best with six or seven. In some games, players place an initial amount of money into the pot before the cards are dealt. These are called forced bets and come in the form of antes, blinds or bring-ins.

After the cards are dealt, each player makes a decision whether to place a play wager (equal to the amount they put as an ante) to pit their hand against the dealer’s. Optimum strategy says that a player should always “play” hands greater than Queen, Six and Four and fold any worse hands.

The rank of poker hands is determined by their probability, and suits are irrelevant in this case. The highest ranking hand is a royal flush, which includes the Ace, King, Queen, and Jack of one suit only. Other high hands include a straight (5 consecutive cards of the same rank) and three of a kind (2 matching cards of one rank plus two unmatched cards). Ties are broken by the highest pair or, if none of the pairs are equal, the highest card.