Poker is a card game in which players wager money by placing bets on a hand of cards. The highest poker hand wins the pot. The game is played from a standard deck of 52 cards (although some variant games may use multiple packs or include wild cards). There are four suits: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. Each suit has a different rank, but the Ace is always high. The dealer begins the game by dealing cards to each player, one at a time. Once everyone has two face-up cards they begin betting. To bet, players must either raise, call or fold. A player who raises takes a risk by putting more money into the pot than the previous bet.
As more players raise, the value of the remaining hands increases. Once all betting rounds have finished, the remaining players reveal their hands and the winner takes the pot.
During the first few rounds of the game, bets are low and the players are feeling each other out. However, as the action becomes more tense, the number of raised bets will increase and the pressure on the remaining hands will rise. This is when it becomes more important to have a good poker hand. It is also when you want to try and make a bluff.