Poker is a card game that can be played between two or more players. It has a number of variants, and can be played either casually or professionally. It is considered a game of chance, but skill can reduce the luck factor over time. It has a wide appeal among many people, as it can be played with pennies or matchsticks, or for thousands of dollars in casinos and other gambling establishments.
Each round of betting is initiated by one player making a bet of one or more chips. The other players may choose to call by putting into the pot at least as many chips as the bet, raise the amount of money they put in, or fold. If a player folds, they do not put any chips into the pot and are effectively out of the game until the next deal.
A winning poker hand is classified as a full house, flush, or straight. A full house consists of three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank, or five consecutive cards of the same suit. A flush consists of 5 consecutive cards of the same suit, and a straight consists of any 5 cards in order but not all from the same suit.
Players can agree to set up a special fund, called a “kitty,” that is used to pay for new decks of cards or food and drinks at the game table. A common rule is that the winner of a poker game takes all of the chips in the kitty. This can be modified by a majority vote of the remaining players.