Poker is a card game where players compete for a pot (the sum of all bets made during the hand) by making the highest ranking hand of cards. It is played by 2 to 14 people. There are many different forms of poker but most of them have similar rules.

The best poker players possess several key traits: patience, reading other players, and adaptability. They also know how to calculate their odds and use them to their advantage. They also develop and tweak their strategy over time.

To start, it is a good idea to study the basic rules of the game and memorize them. Aside from the rules themselves, you should also learn what hands beat other hands. For example, a flush beats a straight and three of a kind beats two pair. This knowledge will help you understand the betting process and make more informed decisions at the table.

When the cards are dealt there is a round of betting that starts with the players to the left of the dealer. This is called the pre-flop betting round.

After this round the dealer deals 3 additional cards face-up on the board. These are known as the community cards and anyone can use them. This is called the flop.

From this point on the player who makes the best 5 card poker hand wins the pot. The highest poker hand can consist of either a royal flush, four of a kind, straight or three of a kind. A royal flush consists of all four matching cards of the same rank. A straight consists of five consecutive cards that are of the same suit.