Poker is a card game in which players place bets against each other and, depending on the rules of the particular game being played, either win or lose all of the chips placed as buy-ins at the table. The underlying skill in Poker is to minimize losses with poor hands and maximize wins with strong ones.
Players start the game by placing an initial contribution, called a blind or an ante, into the pot before they are dealt cards. Each player then keeps their cards hidden from other players, known as their hole cards or pocket. A betting interval, or round, then begins with the player to the left of the button.
During a betting interval, each player may call a bet, raise it or check. A player who calls a bet must put the same amount of chips into the pot as the original bet. Then, in turn, each player can either fold their hand or reveal it to see if they have a winning combination of cards.
The player with the best 5-card hand wins all of the money in the pot. However, it is possible that multiple players have the best hand and share the prize. It is therefore also common for games to include rules that dictate how the winners should split the prize.