Poker is a card game played by many players around the world. The game has hundreds of variants and is popular both socially and professionally, with major casinos like those in Las Vegas or Atlantic City in the USA offering live games and tournaments.

The game involves betting rounds between cards being dealt to the players. The player to the left of the dealer begins the round by making a bet with a certain number of chips. Other players must either “call” this bet by putting in the same amount of chips; or “raise,” putting in more than enough chips to call; or “drop,” or “fold.”

Betting is an important aspect of poker because it involves chip management, comparing hands, and using bluffing techniques. Betting is also important because it allows players to win more money than they lose when their hand is not good, and can even help them avoid losing all of their chips.

A player’s highest hand wins the pot. The standard poker hands are: pairs, three of a kind (three cards of the same rank), four of a kind (four cards of the same rank), straight (five cards in sequence), and flush (five cards of the same suit).

Ties break by following the High Card rules for each type of hand. If two or more hands have the same high pair, they break ties by ranking the next card in each hand.

The best hand in poker is a straight flush, a five-card straight that contains the same suit as all the cards in the hand. Ace-high straight flushes are called royal flushes and beat any other natural hand.