Poker is a game of chance in which players compete for a pot of money by placing bets. The winner is the player who holds the best hand at the end of a betting round.

Depending on the particular form of poker being played, a player may be required to make an initial forced bet called a blind. A small blind is the amount that must be placed in the pot by the first player to act (the person to the left of the dealer button), and a big blind is the amount that must be placed in by the second player to act.

The right to deal cards is marked by a button (often a plastic disk in live poker) that rotates among the players clockwise after each hand. It is normally passed clockwise to the next player in the position, but in a casino, it usually goes to the next player on the left.

A poker hand is a grouping of cards that contains at least five cards. These can be the five cards that a player was dealt or a combination of their own cards and the community cards.

Royal flush is the highest hand possible in most games, and a straight flush is also a high hand. A pair of aces is the lowest hand, followed by two pairs or three of a kind.

A good poker face is a natural, relaxed expression that shows little emotion or movement while a player is making decisions in the hand. A glowering face, an expression that looks like they are trying to hide something or to intimidate a rival, or a jerky movement can indicate nervousness or bluffing.