Poker is a card game played between two or more players. It involves betting on the strength of one’s hand in order to win a pot of money at the end of each round of play. It is believed to have evolved from a variety of earlier games.

Experts disagree about how it originated, but most think that it has roots in 10th-century Chinese domino games and the 16th-century Persian game As Nas. Its birthplace in the United States is unclear, although the early 19th century saw it spread from Mississippi riverboats to inland cities like New Orleans and beyond.

The basic rules of poker are straightforward: each player is dealt five cards and must decide whether or not to play. If she chooses to play, she must bet at least the amount that the person before her has raised (or “called”). She may also raise her own bet. She must also decide whether or not to fold, to throw out her cards and leave the hand.

To be a good poker player, you need to develop quick instincts based on experience and observation. The best way to do this is to practice, watch experienced players and think about how you would react in their position to build your own instincts. In addition, you must be able to decipher the tells of other players. To do this, you need to be able to extract signal from noise across a number of channels, including eye contact and body language.