The Basics of Poker

Poker is a card game played by two or more players and in which the highest-ranking hand wins. The cards are dealt from a standard 52-card deck, with some games adding wild cards. The suits are spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds; the rank of each is determined by its suit. A royal flush is the best possible poker hand, consisting of an ace, king, queen, and jack in the same suit, and beats all other hands.

When a player is dealt a good hand, they should bet to increase the value of their chips in the pot. This forces other players to either fold their weaker hands or call and raise the bet. This is known as a “call.”

To prevent players from making bad calls, the rules of some poker games require each player to place an initial contribution into the pot before the cards are dealt. This amount is called the ante. Players may also choose to place additional money into the pot at other times, but this is not required.

When betting on a hand, players usually place their bets in increments of one chip. When it’s their turn to act, they say “call” or “I call” to make a bet equal to the last player’s. When they don’t want to bet, they can simply say “check,” which means that they pass their turn to another player. This is not a sign of weakness. The best players know when to check and when to call.