The game of poker is played between two or more players and the object is to win a pot, which is the total amount bet during a hand. The number of players in a game may vary but there are forms suitable for 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. The cards used in poker are standard 52-card packs (with some variant games using multiple packs or adding wild cards) and are ranked from high to low as follows: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 7, 6, 5 and 4. The highest-ranking hand wins the pot.
In a betting round, the player to the left of the dealer makes the first bet. Then in turn, each player must place enough chips into the pot to cover the total contribution made by the players before him. Usually, this means that the player must raise the bet at least once if he doesn’t have the highest hand.
In addition to raising and calling bets, players can also check. When a player checks, it indicates that they don’t want to bet any more. Players can also fold their cards at any time, but if they do so, they forfeit that particular round. During the third and final betting stage, an additional community card is revealed. This is called the River. Then, all players reveal their hands and the player with the highest-ranking hand wins the pot. In the case of a tie, the winnings are shared.