Official poker is a game in which players bet on the value of their cards and other player’s hands, either by showing them or bluffing. There are many variations of the game, but most of them share common features such as betting in rounds and a central pot. The game can be played socially for pennies or matchsticks or professionally for thousands of dollars in casinos and card rooms.

The rules of official poker can vary by location, but usually one person is designated as the banker who keeps track of a stock of chips and records how many each player has been issued or how much cash they have paid for them. Ideally, the banker will not allow players to engage in private transactions with one another. Players should not be allowed to return or exchange their chips with other players, and a player who wants more chips should ask the banker for them.

In tournament poker, players are expected to make a decision within a reasonable amount of time. If a player is taking too long to act it is acceptable for other players to call the clock on them, although doing so must be done with respect and consideration of the other players at the table.

In some games, players may establish a fund, called a kitty, for paying for new decks of cards and other expenses. Typically, each player is required to contribute one low-denomination chip into the kitty when they raise in a hand. Those chips are then split evenly among the players still in the game.