Poker is a betting card game that requires skill at reading opponents and predicting odds. It also includes bluffing, which can make the game more fun and potentially lucrative. There are hundreds of variations of the game, but most involve putting in chips, or paper money, into a pot before being dealt cards. Players then try to win the pot by making a high-ranking poker hand or by raising bets that no other player calls.
Players place chips into the pot in intervals called betting periods. Typically one player, as designated by the rules of the specific Poker variant being played, makes the first bet and each player must put in at least as many chips as the player before them. When the last player puts in enough chips to equal or surpass the total contribution of their predecessors, they show their hand and the highest-ranking hand wins the pot.
Usually, the player to the right of the dealer, or button, will raise his bet on his turn. To match his bet you must say “call,” or “I call,” which means you want to match his bet with the same number of chips or cash. If you don’t want to match his bet and don’t think you have a good hand, you can say “fold,” which is announcing that you don’t wish to continue competing for the pot.
