Official poker is a card game played for money in private homes, clubs, casinos, and in some major tournaments. It is a skillful, game of chance that requires a great deal of luck and an equally large amount of skill. It can be played for as little as pennies or as much as thousands of dollars. It has become a part of American culture and a major source of entertainment.

It is usually played with a standard 52-card pack and one or two jokers. The cards are marked with varying colors to identify the value of each. A white chip, for example, is worth the minimum ante or bet; a red chip is worth five whites; and a blue chip is worth 10 whites. Each player buys in for a set number of chips at the beginning of a hand.

There are a number of unwritten rules in poker that should be followed to ensure the game is fair and enjoyable for all players. These include: not trying to peek at another player’s hole cards, hiding high-value chips to make them look short, verbally saying that you intend to raise your bet before doing so, and counting your chips in a way that is visible to the other players.

As poker has grown in popularity, it has been increasingly important to establish a common set of international rules to avoid disputes and misunderstandings. This has led to the creation of an organization called FIDPA, which has developed a set of 81 rules that can be found on their website and are used by most major tournaments around the world.