Poker is a card game in which players place chips (representing money) into a pot when it’s their turn. Typically, one white chip is worth the minimum ante or bet; a red chip is worth five whites; and a blue chip is worth 10 or 20 or 25 whites. The player who bets the most chips in each betting interval is said to win the pot.

When it’s your turn to bet, you can say “call” if you want to make a bet the same as the last person’s; or you can raise your bet. When it’s your opponent’s turn, they can choose to call your raise or fold.

A good poker strategy involves analyzing your opponents and reading their physical tells. For example, if you notice a player scratching their nose or playing nervously with their chips it’s likely that they are holding a weak hand. On the other hand, if a player continually raises their bets it’s probably that they are holding a strong hand.

In some games, there is a special fund called the kitty that players use to buy new decks of cards and pay for food and drinks. Whenever a player leaves the game before it ends, they forfeit any chips that were part of the kitty. In most Poker games, a player can only take their share of the kitty if they were in the lead when the game ended. If they weren’t, then the kitty goes to the next player in turn.