The object of poker is to win the pot, the pool of money in the middle of the table where bets are collected. You can do this either by having the best hand, or by bluffing to make other players think you have the best hand and thus getting them to drop out. Whether you're playing at home, online, or in a casino's poker room, your opponent in most games is the other player or players, not the house. Your chances of winning depend on the cards, your own level of skill, and the skills of the opposing players. (Chapter 7 covers variations of poker in which players are pitted against the house instead of each other.)