Poker is a card game played by two or more players. It has a variety of rules and strategies that vary by game variant, but most games involve betting rounds where the player with the best hand wins the pot. The game is usually played with a standard 52-card deck of playing cards, though other types of cards may be used. Players usually buy in for a fixed amount of chips (representing money) and can only place their bets with those chips until the game is over. After the winning player collects the pot, any remaining chips are shared among the players at the table.

There are hundreds of poker variations, but most have the same basic gameplay. Some poker games require that one or more players make forced bets, known as an ante or blind bet. These bets must be made before a player can check, call or raise. Some poker games also use chips that represent the amount of money a player can bet per round. These chips are typically colored, with a white chip being worth a minimum of the required ante or bet; a red chip is often worth five whites, and a blue chip might be worth ten, twenty, or fifty whites.

After the antes and blind bets are placed, each player is dealt two cards face down (hidden from other players). This phase of the game is called the pre-flop betting stage. After this betting phase, three more cards are revealed to all players at the table and become part of everyone’s hands. These are the community cards and can be used by all players to build a poker hand. Another betting phase begins at this point, starting with the player to the left of the big blind.

In most poker games, the rank of poker hands is determined by their odds (probability). The highest possible hand is a royal flush consisting of a 10 through an Ace of the same suit. In some poker games, ties are broken by the higher unmatched pairs (a straight beats a flush).

A player can call if they think that their chances of having a good hand are high enough to justify betting. They can also raise if they believe that their chances of having a good hand have improved. They can also fold if they are not confident that their chances of having a good hand will improve.

The skillful play of poker requires a large degree of mental calculation. This is why many people prefer to use a computer program to help them play poker. Nevertheless, most successful poker players have excellent manual skills and have a solid understanding of basic probability theory. They also learn to view poker in a more cold, detached, and mathematical way than the emotional and superstitious poker players that often lose or struggle to break even. This workbook will help you master the fundamental concepts of poker math, internalize these calculations, and develop your intuition to improve your poker results.