Poker is a card game that involves betting on the strength of one’s hand against those of other players. The highest-ranking hand wins. The game has a wide range of variants, but most share the same basic rules. Players each receive two cards, and must aim to form a best five-card “hand” using those and the community cards (the remainder of the deck). The player with the highest hand wins the pot – all bets placed so far. Players can Fold to forfeit their hand, Call by placing a bet equal to the amount the previous player raised, or Raise. It is important for a good poker player to be able to read his or her opponent’s tells, or nonverbal body language, which can reveal whether he has a strong or weak hand.

In the 21st century, poker became popular as a spectator sport, with TV broadcasts of major tournaments drawing large audiences. The popularity of online poker brought in even more players.

Poker has roots in a variety of earlier vying games, including Primero (16th-century Spain), Flux and Post (18th – 19th centuries), and Brag (19th – 20th centuries). In poker, players are required to place an initial amount of money into the pot before the cards are dealt, known as forced bets. This is typically an ante or blind bet, and sometimes both. Players then bet in rounds on the outcome of their hands. The player with the highest-ranking hand wins the pot.