Poker is a game of chance, but it also requires a significant amount of skill and psychology. It is a card game where the player controls his or her destiny in each hand, and there are rules that must be followed in order to ensure that the game is fair for all players. There are a number of issues that can arise in the game, but these are easily resolved by following a code of poker rules.

The first rule that every player must follow is to ante up some amount of chips (representing money, for which poker is played) at the beginning of each hand. The player must then place his or her chips in the pot, according to the rules of the particular poker variant being played.

It is a good idea to have one player designated as the banker, who keeps track of how many chips each player has, as well as how much cash the player paid for those chips. This prevents players from making private transactions among themselves, and it is a good idea for a player who has surplus chips to return them to the banker and receive credit or cash in return. The same is true if a player wants to purchase more chips; the only way he or she can do so is by purchasing them from the banker.

There are a few instances when a player must verbally state that they will be taking a certain action. This includes stating that they will raise, call or fold their cards. This is binding and the other players at the table must abide by this decision. However, this is not intended to prohibit players from making any other decisions they want to make in a hand.