Poker is a card game in which players wager money (or chips) on an outcome determined by the cards randomly distributed to them. It is a casino game in which skill and strategy are used, but mainly it is a game of chance.

After each player has received 2 cards, there is a round of betting, initiated by the mandatory bets (“blind bet”) placed into the pot by the two players to their left. Players can choose to call, raise, or drop. If they drop, they may no longer participate in the betting for the remainder of the hand.

The player with the best 5-card poker hand wins the pot. A poker hand must consist of five cards; however, some poker variants allow players to use fewer than five.

A player who wishes to stay in the pot must raise his stake by at least as much as the last active player’s, and can raise it further if he so desires. If he is unwilling to do this, or cannot meet the last raiser, he must “drop” (fold).

The game of poker has many variants, but they all feature the same basic rules. The most popular variant is Texas Hold’em, which is played by millions of people around the world. Other variations include Omaha, Razz, and Pai Gow, among others. In addition, some games are played with multiple decks, while others are dealt from a single deck. A standard 52-card pack, sometimes with a joker or two, is used in the majority of poker games played today.