Poker is a card game that involves skill, strategy and some chance. Players gamble with money or chips on the outcome determined by the cards randomly distributed to them. Poker can be played with 2 to 14 players. The object of the game is to win the “pot,” which is the sum of all bets placed in a single deal. The pot can be won by having the highest-ranking hand or by betting successfully against other players.

While the result of any particular hand significantly involves chance, the long-run expectations of players are based on their actions chosen on the basis of probability theory, psychology and game theory. In addition, poker offers many mechanisms by which players can strategically misinform other players about the strength of their hands. For example, players with weak hands may signal their weakness by making small bets to keep the pot growing, while players with strong hands can bluff other players into folding before the “showdown,” at which all remaining players reveal their hands and the player with the best hand wins.

A poker player’s tells can be as subtle as a change in his posture or as obvious as a gesture. A good poker player is able to read these tells, and the most successful players are also able to read their opponents’ tells. This is because successful poker players are able to detach their emotional states from their decisions and can thus focus solely on the situation at hand.