Poker is a game of chance and skill, played with a group of people around an oval table. Cards are dealt to each player in rotation. The player with the best hand wins the pot.

Poker can be played with a single player or with many, and can be a spectator sport as well. There are hundreds of different variations of the game. A good rule of thumb is to play with a minimum of five or six players.

One of the most common variants is Texas Hold’em, which is played with a 52 card English deck. Players use two hole cards and three board cards. To play, a minimum bet is required.

The best hand is a meld of five cards. It can be any combination of a pair, a straight, or two of a kind. Depending on the game and the number of players involved, a few wild cards may be used.

Some variants have a side pot. This is a collection of all the extra money that has been bet by the other players in the round. In a round with an all-in player, this pot is not visible to the rest of the players.

A “backdoor flush” is achieved by hitting the right cards at the right time on the turn and river. This is usually accomplished by a player with a large statistical lead.

The first player to make a bet is said to be the bettor. For a typical hand, the minimum bet is about twice the big blind.