Poker is a card game played between 2 or more players. It involves betting and the player with the highest ranked hand wins the pot which is all the money that has been bet during the hand.

The game is played from a standard pack of 52 cards (although some games use more than this and also have wild cards). There are four suits but no suit is higher than any other. Each player has two cards which are dealt face down. There is then a round of betting where each player can choose to either call or fold their cards.

After the first betting round is complete the dealer puts three more community cards on the table face up. This is called the flop. There is another round of betting and again if no one else calls they can raise their bets or just fold.

If there is a tie for the best hand then it is decided by looking at the rank of each pair of cards. The higher pair wins ties, but if they are both the same then it is the highest unmatched card that decides.

When playing poker it is important to read your opponents. This is done by observing their body language, idiosyncrasies and betting habits. A player that raises their bet frequently and with little reason may be hiding a very strong hand. The more you study your opponent, the better you will get at reading their tells and making accurate assumptions about the strength of their hands.