Poker is a card game that is played between two or more players. The object is to make a winning poker hand by betting that your cards are better than the others, or by bluffing. There are many different forms of poker, but the basic principles are the same. The game is played with a single deck of cards and may be suitable for any number of players from 2 to 14. In some forms, players must place an initial amount of money into the pot before the cards are dealt. This is called a forced bet. Forced bets are usually in the form of an ante, a blind, or both.

After the forced bets are placed, each player is dealt 2 cards face-down (hidden from other players). Then 3 more cards are laid out in the center of the table and are revealed to all players. These are known as the flop and are used by each player to build their 5-card poker hand.

Players then take turns revealing their cards. If a player has a strong poker hand, they can raise their bets to force other players to fold their hands and prevent them from winning the pot. Players can also try to read other players’ cards by studying their body language, facial expressions, and gestures, which are referred to as tells.

If a player has a strong poker hands, they can also choose to discard their cards and draw replacements from an undealt portion of the pack. Depending on the rules of the game, this is done during or after a betting round.