Poker is a card game that can be played by two to seven players. The game uses a standard 52-card English deck with one or more jokers (wild cards). Players can choose whether to use them. The game can also be played with no wild cards at all. The rules vary slightly from variant to variant, but there are some fundamentals that all players should understand before playing the game.

The main objective of the game is to form a winning five-card poker hand. The best hand wins the pot with all the bets made at each round of betting. Each player is dealt four cards face down at the start of the hand. Then a third card, called the flop is dealt simultaneously to all players. Then a fourth card is dealt, called the turn. Finally, a fifth card is dealt, called the river.

Luck has a role to play in poker, but skill will virtually eliminate the variance of luck over time. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have a bad run of cards or that you can’t lose a lot of money in a short amount of time, but it does mean that you should learn the skills to play the game well.

The first step is to decide what your goals are in the game and make a plan of action. You should always have a reason for every decision you make in the game, whether it is to call, raise or fold. This will help you keep your opponents off guard and make them think you have something that you don’t, which will increase your chances of winning.