Poker is a card game that involves skill and strategy, but it’s also mostly a game of chance. Players bet chips on the outcome of a hand, with the goal being to win as much money as possible from the other players at the table. This makes it a game that can be fun and lucrative for people of all ages.

The rules of poker vary slightly from game to game, but they all revolve around the same general principles. Each player is dealt two personal cards and five community cards. There are four rounds of betting: before the flop, after the flop, after the turn, and finally after the river. Players can check (not bet), raise, call, or fold during their turns.

One of the most interesting things about poker is reading about the different strategies used by top players. You can also learn a lot by studying the tells that some players have, which are unconscious habits that reveal information about their hands. These can be anything from a change in posture to a gesture.

The highest possible hand in poker is a Royal Flush, which consists of five consecutive cards of the same suit. Other high hands include straight flush, four of a kind, three of a kind, and two pair. If no one has any of these hands, the high card breaks ties. The dealer is responsible for distributing the chips that are bet into the main pot and any side pots created when a player goes all in.