Poker is a card game that involves betting. The objective of the game is to win the “pot,” which is the total amount of bets made by all players in any given deal. A player may win the pot by having the highest-ranking hand or by making a bet that no other players call. The rules of poker vary slightly among variants, but most games involve a standard pack of 52 cards with four suits (spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs). Some games also include wild cards or other special cards called jokers.

Most poker games require that all players ante a small amount of money before they are dealt cards. This is often done to prevent games from getting too long and to keep each player somewhat invested in each hand. This is also known as the buy-in.

When a player has a strong hand, he or she can raise the bet to make it more difficult for other players to call. This is a bluff, and the player who calls the bet must either have a better hand than the player who bluffed or have the amount of money needed to make an all-in bet.

A duplicate card on the board can dramatically devalue a poker hand. For example, if you have two pairs of 6’s and the river is a 7, your hands are instantly invalidated and you will lose the round. A poker dealer is the person who shuffles and deals the cards. He or she is usually indicated by a button, which is passed clockwise around the table after each hand. Some games use a non-player to be the dealer, but in casual play it is common for the dealer responsibilities to rotate among the players.