Poker is a family of card games played worldwide, including in casinos and private homes. Poker is also a national card game of the United States.

The main difference between poker and other games that use a hand ranking system is the practice of bluffing. By bluffing, a player can win the pot by making a bet that no other player is willing to call.

Poker is usually played with a normal 52-card deck, although other versions can be played using a shorter deck. A typical game may involve several rounds of betting.

The game starts with an initial deal, in which each player is given a set of cards. These cards may be face up, face down, or shuffled. The player to the left of the dealer is then able to bet or re-bet.

After this, players can discard some or all of their cards. They can then draw new cards from the top of the deck. These cards can be discarded if they do not match the cards already in the hand.

Players can then place bets toward the pot. Generally, bets are placed with plastic or ceramic chips. The bets are then gathered into the pot, and the player with the best hand takes the pot.

The hand with the lowest cards is usually considered the best, but some variations consider straights and flushes. During the American Civil War, many poker variations were introduced, such as stud and draw.