Poker is a card game played by two or more players with chips representing real money. Players bet into a pot in the center of the table and the highest hand wins the pot. A player may also raise or fold his or her hand in turn. The rules of poker vary by game, and there are many different tournament formats.

The rules of poker are generally written to produce the right ruling in any situation, while preserving the integrity of the game. The author strongly supports uniform poker rules, and applauds the work done by the TDA to achieve this goal. Most of the rules in this rulebook are compatible with the TDA rules, although a few are not.

A poker game is divided into so-called betting rounds in which cards are dealt and bets placed. The order of the betting is indicated by a token called a dealer button. In casinos, this button is usually a small plastic disk that rotates among players to indicate a nominal dealer.

In most cases, a player must pay a fee to enter the poker game. These fees are collected and form the prize pool for the poker tournament. Players then compete to win a portion of the prize pool based on how quickly they are eliminated from the game.

In a tournament, the winner of a poker hand is the first player to make the best four-of-a-kind hand. This is often the case in heads-up play, but can occur when more than one player has a four-of-a-kind hand.