Poker is a card game played by two or more players. Each player has a number of chips (representing money) and the goal is to make the best five card hand using your own cards and the community cards. The highest hand wins the pot.
The game is played with incomplete information about your opponents and involves elements of psychology, math and strategy. Players make decisions about betting and raising based on expected value, and are also often bluffing other players for various strategic reasons.
Players must ante something to get their hands dealt, and then place bets into the pot in a series of betting intervals defined by the specific poker variant being played. Generally speaking, the first player to act has the privilege of raising or folding, and each player then acts in turn after him.
Depending on the structure of the tournament and how many players are playing, a poker hand can be completed in one deal or several deals. Poker can be played with any number of players from 2 to 14, but the ideal number is 6 or more.
Beginners should play relatively tight at the start, avoiding wild hands and focusing on high value holdings like pairs or better. They should also learn how to read other players and watch for tells, which are unconscious habits or gestures a player makes that reveal information about their hand. These can include fiddling with a chip, ring or bracelet or an unusual face expression.