Poker is a card game played by two or more players. The game can be a game of chance, but can also involve strategy and psychology. It is played in homes, private clubs, and casinos and has become a major international card game with many variants. It is sometimes called the national card game of the United States, and its play and jargon permeate American culture.
To start the game, each player puts in a bet (representing money) into the pot. This amount is determined by the rules of the particular game being played. Then, each active player receives 2 cards face up. There is a round of betting after this. A player may raise his stake in this interval if he wishes, but he cannot raise it more than the total contribution to the pot by the player before him.
It is important to know how to read the betting patterns of other players. Some players are more conservative, folding early or only staying in a hand when their cards are good. Others are aggressive, often betting high to force weaker hands out of the pot. In the end, only one player can win a hand. The winner will take all the stakes that have been bet during the hand. The rest of the players will split the remaining amounts, including their own initial stakes. Articles on poker history mention a variety of earlier vying games, but not all are relevant to the development of Poker.