Poker is a card game that has twin elements of chance and skill. The luck element is largely determined by the cards dealt, but skill can reduce the variance of this factor over time. In the short run, however, the game of Poker is a game of pure chance.

The game is played by two or more players and uses a standard deck of 52 cards. The cards are shuffled before each round and then dealt to the players. During each betting interval, players make bets by placing chips into the pot. The player with the best hand wins the pot.

In some cases, a player may choose not to reveal his or her hand, and this is called folding. There are also special situations in which a player will put all of his or her chips into the pot, which is known as going all-in. The rules for how this works vary depending on the variant of Poker being played.

Some variants of Poker require one or more forced bets to be placed into the pot before the cards are dealt. These bets are often referred to as the ante and/or blind bets. They can be made by all players, or only those that have not already folded. Once the betting for a given round is over, players reveal their hands and the winner takes the pot.

A poker hand consists of five cards, and it must contain at least one pair (two cards of the same rank) and three of a kind. Other combinations of cards are possible, but they are less common and tend to be more difficult to make. Four of a kind, for example, consists of three of the same rank and two of a different rank (such as three jacks and two sixes).

Many poker games have a special fund that is used to pay for the cards and other expenses associated with playing the game. This fund is known as the kitty and it can be built up by “cutting” a low-denomination chip from each pot in which there is more than one raise. Any chips left in the kitty when the game is over are divided evenly among the players who remain in contention.

Although the earliest recorded mention of Poker is in the 1845 edition of Hoyle’s Games, it likely developed from earlier card games such as Primero (16th century), Gilet (under various spellings, 16th – 17th centuries), and Mus (French, of unknown age). A card game with similar mechanics but different rules is bluff, which has its roots in German glic. It is also closely related to French poque, which was brought over to the United States by riverboats plying the Mississippi.