Poker is a card game that involves betting and some element of chance. It also requires a good deal of skill and psychology to play well. The most important part of the game is understanding how to read the table and how your opponent plays. Practice and observe how experienced players react to build your own instincts.

In the game of poker, each player puts in chips (representing money, for which poker is almost always played) into a pot when it is their turn to bet. The object of the game is to win the pot by having a higher-ranking hand than any other player. If no player has a higher-ranking hand, the remaining chips in the pot are split evenly among all players.

A hand consists of five cards. A flush consists of 5 consecutive cards of the same suit. A straight consists of 5 cards in a row that skip around in rank but are all the same suit. A full house contains 3 matching cards of one rank and 2 matching cards of another rank. A pair consists of two matching cards of one rank and one unmatched card.

To begin a hand, each player must first ante something (amount varies by game, but for Fantasy Flight Games’ games it is typically a nickel). Once everyone has antes, they are dealt their cards. Then each player either calls the bet (putting in their chips) or raises it (putting in more than the amount of the previous player). Players can also drop their cards and leave the game (this is called folding). If a player has less than five cards, their hand is considered dead and the best remaining hand wins the pot.