Poker is a card game that involves betting between players and requires skill to win. Whether played socially for pennies or professionally for thousands of dollars, poker can be enjoyed by people all over the world. There are many different versions of poker, but the core rules of the game remain the same.

The dealer deals every player two cards face down, which are called their hole cards. They then must combine these cards with the community cards to make a poker hand. There are different ways to construct a poker hand, and the best one is determined by luck and strategy.

Once the dealer has dealt the cards, the players can act in turn, raising their bets as they see fit or folding. A player can also call the raise of another player if they wish. The bets made in this round are then placed in the pot.

When a player makes a mistake during a hand, they may be asked to muck their cards or if the error was intentional, they could be disqualified from the tournament. Players can request to see mucked cards, but the dealer has the right to refuse.

As poker has become a truly international game, there have been growing calls to develop a set of official poker rules that are applied universally. This would avoid many misunderstandings and disputes between players from different countries. The International Federation of Poker (FIDPA) has compiled a list of 81 poker rules that can be found on their website, free to download.