Poker is a card game that involves betting between two or more players. The object of the game is to have the highest poker hand at the end of a deal, which is called winning the pot. The player who wins the pot is rewarded with all the bets made by other players in that deal. There are many different variations of the game, but in all cases a poker hand is determined by the cards you are dealt.

The game is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. The game may be played with as few as two players, or with as many as 14 players. Each player places an initial forced bet (called an ante or blind) before being dealt cards. A player may also choose to place a bet of any amount in the pot before they are dealt cards. This bet is called a raise. A raise must be at least equal to the total contribution of the player before them.

Betting occurs during each of the betting intervals, which are usually defined by the rules of the specific poker variant being played. A player who makes a bet that is less than the total amount raised by the previous player is said to call; if they make a bet of a higher amount, they are raising. Players may also check, which means they will stay in the hand without betting, but only if no one else has raised.

Some games allow players to “cut” a low-denomination chip from the pot each time they raise. This money is added to a pool known as the kitty, which is used to pay for new decks of cards and food and drink. If a player leaves the game before it ends, they are not entitled to take any of the chips that comprised their share of the kitty.

Once the antes and bets are placed, the dealer shuffles the cards and deals them to each player in turn, beginning with the player on their left. The players may then look at their cards and decide to either raise the bet, call it, or fold.

If a player calls a bet, he must put the same number of chips into the pot as the player who raised it. If he wants to raise the bet again, he must add more chips into the pot than the previous player. If he does not call the bet, he must fold his cards and cannot continue to play in that hand. In most poker games, a player can only raise once during a betting interval. The exception to this rule is a player who intentionally “scoops” the pot, or takes all of the chips in the pot with his own bet. This is often seen in high-stakes games and is a tactic used by skilled players to increase the size of their bets and make more money. This is considered a deceptive move and is generally illegal.