Poker is a card game in which players try to win by placing chips into the pot. There is a predetermined betting interval in each game, and one player has the privilege or obligation to make the first bet. When a player raises, the other players must either call the raise or fold. Players use a variety of different chips to play the game. These chips are normally red, white, blue, or green. Before a game begins, the poker dealer assigns each chip a certain value. The dealer then exchanges each player’s cash for poker chips.

The game of poker can be played with as few as two players, although six to eight players is optimal. Each player has a hand, or “poker hand,” and the highest hand wins the pot. When a player has the highest hand in poker, or makes a bet that no other player calls, he or she wins the pot.

During a game, a player may have a hand with the best combination of two cards in each suit. A straight flush is the highest hand possible, but a wild card will make it possible to make a five-of-a-kind. The lowest pair is a pair of aces.