In poker, players compete for money (or other valuable prizes) by placing bets on the likelihood of forming a winning hand. The winner of a hand takes all the money that is placed into the pot. Depending on the game, there may also be rules for sharing the money among the players who did not win.
A good poker player must have several skills to succeed. These include patience, the ability to read other players and to adapt to different situations. They should also be able to calculate the odds and percentages of each hand, and they must be able to choose the right limits and games for their bankroll.
The basic rules of poker are fairly simple. The deck of cards is dealt to the players, face down, and each player must place an ante (a bet) into the pot before any betting occurs. Players then reveal their hands. A player who does not have a winning hand must raise his bet, or else fold and leave the table.
A winning hand in poker consists of three or more cards of the same rank, two pairs, or five of a kind. A flush consists of five consecutive cards of the same suit. A straight consists of five cards that skip around in rank but are from more than one suit. A full house consists of three matching cards of one rank and two matching cards of another rank, or two unmatched cards.