Poker is a card game that involves betting and forming a hand based on the cards you have. The best hand wins the pot at the end of the hand. Players are also able to form a combination of hands, such as a straight or flush. The game is played with a standard 52-card deck plus the joker (called a bug). In some countries the joker counts as a wild card.

The main goal of a poker player is to minimize losses with weak hands and maximize winnings with strong ones. This requires a good understanding of basic probability, game theory and emotional control. Lastly, it is important to be able to read your opponents. This includes their tells, which are unconscious habits that reveal information about a player’s hand. These can include eye movements, facial expressions, body language and betting behavior.

In a real-world game, players must first ante an amount of chips into the pot (the sum of all bets). Then they will receive a set of cards and place their bets. When the betting comes around to them, they can call the bets of other players, raise their own bet or fold their cards. A hand must consist of at least five cards to win the pot. If a player exposes their cards before the flop, this is considered a misdeal and the dealer must retrieve and reshuffle the cards. After the reshuffle, the button is passed clockwise to the next player.