The game of poker involves betting and a lot of psychology. It can be a fun and exciting game to play with friends. The goal of the game is to form a winning hand based on the card rankings and win the pot at the end of the round. Players have a variety of betting options including fold, check, call and raise.

Before the cards are dealt, the players must place an initial amount of money into the pot called an ante or blind bet. This money is usually in the form of poker chips. Each chip has a specific value; a white chip is worth one unit, a red chip is worth five whites and a blue chip is worth 20 or more whites. Depending on the rules of the game, players may also establish a special fund known as the “kitty.” This money is used to pay for new decks of cards or food and drinks. When a player leaves the poker table before the game is over, they must return any low-denomination chips that were part of the kitty.

Once the cards are dealt, the player to the left begins revealing their hole cards and betting in clockwise order. Players have the option to check (decline to make a bet but keep their cards), call or raise. Raising is a good way to price out other weak hands and win the pot.

When deciding whether to call or raise, you should always balance the pot odds and potential returns against your own hand strength. A strong draw is usually not worth calling, while a weak hand that will probably bust is a poor choice for raising.