Poker is a card game in which players place chips or cash bets to gain control of the pot (money collected from bets). A player with the best 5-card hand wins all the money staked on the table. Sometimes the game ends in a tie, and the pot is divided among the players with the highest-ranking hands.
The game starts with the dealer shuffling and dealing each player 2 cards face-down (hidden from other players). This phase is called pre-flop betting. After this, three cards are dealt to the center of the table (revealed to all players) which are known as the flop. These cards are community cards that can be used by all players to build a 5-card hand.
Each player must decide whether to call, raise or fold his or her hand. A player may also choose to bluff by betting that he has a better hand than the other players. If other players call the bet, a player must reveal his or her cards.
To make a call, a player must say “I call” or equivalently “calls.” To raise, a player must say “raises” or equivalently “raises.” Players may also exchange cards during the betting phase if they wish. In some cases, a player can also draw 1 to 3 additional cards into his or her hand during or just after the betting phase.