Poker is a card game played by two or more players. It can be played for money or other objects such as peanuts, sweets, and matchsticks (although seasoned gamblers will sneer at anything less than real money). The object of the game is to make the best five-card hand possible by betting on that hand. The player with the highest ranked hand when the cards are revealed wins the pot.
Each betting interval, or round, starts with one player, designated by the rules of the particular poker variant being played, making a bet of one or more chips. The players to his left then have the choice to call that bet by putting into the pot the same number of chips; raise it; or pass, meaning they will not put any chips into the pot and will drop out of the hand.
All poker players have tells – unconscious habits in their body language and behavior that reveal information about the strength of their hand. They can be as simple as a change in posture or as complex as a gesture. Practice and observation are key to developing these instincts.