Poker is a card game of skill and strategy that can be played with two or more players. Players wager money into a central pot during betting rounds. The player with the best 5-card hand wins the round and all of the money in the pot. It is possible to win more than one round in a row, and players can often fold before the showdown.

The game was invented in the United States around the turn of the 19th century, and it is widely believed to have originated from a European predecessor called poque. However, its roots are likely more ancient, with connections to 10th-century Chinese domino games and a 16th-century Persian game called as Nas. In any event, poker’s most notable feature is that it involves betting on uncertainty. As such, it is a perfect analogy of real life, where resources must be committed before all of the facts are known.

The first round of betting in a hand of poker begins with two forced bets called blinds, put into the pot by the players to the left of the dealer. The dealer then shuffles the cards, cuts with the player to his or her right, and deals each player two cards face down. Depending on the variant of poker being played, there may be additional rounds of betting in which new cards are dealt and old ones replaced or added to. In the final betting round, all players reveal their hands and the player with the best 5-card hand wins the pot.