Poker is a card game that requires skill and strategy to play well. The game has many variants, but all have the same basic rules. The object of the game is to win an amount of money or chips contributed by the players, known as the pot. Players compete for this sum by betting on the value of their cards and their predictions about the strength or weakness of their opponents’ hands. They also attempt to read their opponents’ behavior to decide whether they should call, raise, or fold.

During each betting interval, players may call (match the previous player’s bet), raise, or drop. The betting ends when the players’ bets have equalized – that is, every player has put in at least as many chips as their predecessors or dropped. Usually, there are two or more betting intervals per deal. Once all the bets have equalized, there is a showdown, in which each player who remains shows their hand face up on the table. The best Poker hand wins the pot.

During the course of a game, the players sometimes establish a fund to pay for new decks of cards or food and drinks. This is called a kitty, and the players share equally in any chips that are left in it when the game ends. However, a player is not allowed to take his or her own share of the kitty if he or she leaves the game before it is over.