Poker is a card game played by two or more players. It is a game of chance, but it also relies on skill and game theory. The goal is to win the pot, which is the sum of all bets placed before the showdown. The player with the highest-ranking hand wins the pot. If a player doesn’t have a winning hand, they must fold before the showdown.

To begin, you need to learn the rules of poker. This includes knowing what hands beat each other, like a flush beats a straight or three of a kind beats two pair. You must also be able to read the other players’ behavior and look for tells. Tells are small physical cues that reveal an opponent’s strength or weakness. For example, if someone fiddles with their chips or wears a ring, it could indicate that they have a strong hand.

There are several variants of poker, but all share the same basic rules. The dealer burns a card before each new round of shuffling, and the betting passes clockwise around the table. Depending on the game, there may be antes, blinds or bring-ins, which force players to place an initial amount of money before seeing their cards.

Once the final betting round is complete, the players reveal their hands. The player with the best hand wins the pot. In some cases, the winner of a hand does not have to reveal their cards, but this is a risky strategy and can backfire.