Poker is a card game played by two or more players. It consists of betting in rounds, with the player having the highest hand winning. In some variations of the game, cards are added to or removed from the deck, and special cards can be used as wild cards (e.g. deuces or one-eyed jacks). Unlike most table games, where a player is required to place forced bets, money placed in the pot in poker is done voluntarily by players who believe that their bet has positive expected value or are trying to bluff other players for strategic reasons.
The basic game of poker is played with a standard 52-card pack. A few variants of the game use multiple packs or add extra cards called jokers. The rank of the cards is from high to low: ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 2, and 1; in addition some games may include wild cards of different suits.
Players begin the hand by placing an ante or blind bet. The dealer then shuffles the cards and deals them to each player in turn, beginning with the person on their left. Each player must then decide to call, raise, or fold their cards. After the first round of betting, each player can exchange their cards for replacements if desired. Players can also draw additional cards to their hands if the rules allow. These new cards are then combined with the original cards in their hands to create a poker hand.