Poker is a card game in which players independently try to assemble the highest-value hand of cards. In the game, each player puts in money or chips into a pot and players may call, raise, or fold in response to the actions of their opponents. The object of the game is to win the pot or all bets made during a betting interval. A player can win by making a high-ranking poker hand or by betting so much that others drop out of the game, which is known as raising the stakes.
Each poker variant has its own rules, but the basic mechanics remain the same: a player puts in an initial amount of money or chips into the pot and other players then have the option to match or raise it. The amount of money a player places in the pot must be at least equal to the total amount placed by all players before them. If a player places in more than the amount raised by the previous player, they must say “raise” to stay in the hand.
Poker is almost always played with poker chips, which have different colors and values. For example, a white chip is worth one unit; a red chip is worth five whites; and a blue chip is worth 10 or 20 whites. The players place these chips into the pot before each round of betting begins. This initial amount of money, or the amount a player puts in, is called the blind or ante.