Poker is a game of chance that can be played by any number of players. The goal is to make the best hand possible from five cards. The player with the best hand wins the pot.

The standard poker pack contains 52 cards. The highest-ranking cards are aces, followed by tens, nines, eights, sevens, sixs, fives, fours, and threes. Some games add wild cards, which take any suit.

The first round of betting begins with the player to the left of the big blind. The first player to the left of the dealer makes the first bet. He or she may choose to either raise or fold.

The next round of betting starts with two players left. A third betting interval occurs between new cards. The fourth and fifth betting intervals occur between the third and fourth cards. The final betting interval begins when the last bet is placed.

The dealer shuffles the deck. Then, one card is “burned” from the top of the deck. The deck is then passed to the next dealer.

Then, the players will show their hands. The highest hand is based on the cards that were dealt, and the best hand is the one that wins the pot.

If no one calls, the player with the lowest hand is eliminated. The remaining players continue to bet, and then reveal their cards. If there are ties, the highest card breaks them.

In some variants, players are required to place a fixed amount of money into the pot. This is known as the ante. The ante is usually between $1 and $5.