Poker is a card game played between two or more players. It is a game of chance, but also a game of skill and strategy. It can be played socially for pennies or matchsticks, or professionally for thousands of dollars. It can be fun and exciting, and at times frustrating and boring.

Poker tournaments are generally structured competitions in which participants bet against each other. They are often held in card rooms, bars, community centers, and occasionally at universities. The smallest tournaments, known as locals or weeklies, are often started by friends to bring structure to friendly competitions and provide an opportunity for new players to get their feet wet in the competitive scene. These events are typically low cost to enter and held on a regular schedule to give players a chance to hone their skills.

During a betting interval (which may have one or more rounds), each player has the option to call, raise, or drop. A player who calls puts chips into the pot equal to or more than the amount of the bet made by the player to their left. A player who drops loses any chips they have put into the pot and forfeits their turn in the betting interval.

Like life, poker is a game where resources must be committed before the full information about the situation is known. Choosing the right mix of risk and reward is essential. Trying to be safe and only playing strong hands will result in missing out on opportunities where a moderate level of risk could have yielded a large reward.