Poker is a popular gambling game played by a group of people around a table. The players try to beat each other by making bets on the strength of their poker hand. A pot is awarded to the player with the best hand. If more than one player has the same hand, a showdown occurs.

A poker game may be played with a small deck of cards or a full 52-card deck. Depending on the variation of the game, the players may bet money or the chips that are provided.

One version of the game is called Hold’em. It is played with a 52 card English deck and two decks of different back colours are typically used.

There are several variations of the game, varying from how the cards are dealt to how the winning hand is decided. Most players place their bets in a central pot. Some games are fixed-limit, which means that each player cannot make a bet more than the amount permitted by the game rules.

The dealer is responsible for handling the actual cards and shuffles the deck. Players can also shuffle their own hands. However, the initial dealer is chosen by every player receiving a card from the shuffled deck.

During the showdown, the poker hand is revealed. The best possible hand is called the nuts. This is determined by the odds of having the highest single card. Other players may trade cards to improve their hand.