Poker is a card game played by two or more players. It requires skill to play well, and it is a popular pastime in casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City in the United States. There are many different variations of the game, but all share some basic features. The game involves betting on a hand of five cards. The hand’s value is in inverse proportion to its mathematical frequency, which means that the more unusual the combination of cards, the higher the hand ranks. A player may bet that he or she has the best hand, and other players must either call (i.e., match) the bet or concede. Players can also bluff, which is a risky move that pays off only if players holding superior hands do not call the bet.

In most cases, one player is designated dealer for each round. The dealer is responsible for shuffling the deck and dealing each player a number of cards. A player may be the dealer for only a single hand or for several hands, depending on the rules of the specific game being played. If a player is the dealer for multiple hands in a row, he or she will pass the dealer chip to the next player on his or her left after each hand. This is done to keep the betting order consistent from round to round. The dealer also collects the antes and blinds from each player and places them in a pot.