Poker is a card game that involves betting and raising. It has hundreds (maybe thousands) of variants, but all have the same basic objective: to make the best five-card hand. Players place forced bets at the start of each round, which are collected into a central pot. This is the only way to win the game, unless one of the players makes an unbeatable hand.
Players are dealt cards in a clockwise manner and have the option to call, raise or fold their bet. They also can replace one or more of their cards during a round. After each round, the pot is collected by the player who has the highest hand. The player who wins the most hands is the winner of the game.
The earliest records of the game date back to ancient times and include references to a card game called poque or pochen, which is a likely ancestor of poker. Throughout the ages, poker was adapted and spread around the world in different forms. It was brought to America in the 19th century, where it developed into a full-fledged game with standard rules.
It is possible to become an excellent poker player through intense study and practice. But the path to mastery is not without obstacles. For example, it is important to avoid putting your opponent on a specific hand, because this can be dangerous. Instead, a better strategy is to work out the range of hands your opponent could have and try to estimate how likely they are to beat yours. This is known as reading your opponent.