Official poker is a card game in which players wager real cash or chips that represent currency to make the best five-card hand. It is often played in casinos, card rooms, and tournaments, though the game can also be enjoyed at home or with friends. While it is a game of chance, poker also involves some skill and psychology.

The game is based on the standard 52-card pack, with cards ranked as high as ace and as low as nine. It may include additional cards called jokers, which can take on the rank of any other suit or be wild. In most variant games, the highest hand wins the pot.

Before the advent of tournaments, all poker games featured real money betting. While this is still the case at some live events, it has become more common to use poker chips in place of cash. This helps to prevent misunderstandings and reduce the risk of cheating and other violations.

When a player makes a bet, they must show their cards to everyone at the table before the next person can act. It is considered to be cheating against the rules of poker to reveal one’s cards without showing them to others, but this can only be enforced if someone clearly violates the rule.

In addition to the difference in color, poker chip values represent different denominations of the game. In cash games, the values are usually the same for every establishment, while tournaments may have a different range of chip values to distinguish the various stakes.