How many hosts on a class C network?

Please bare with me, I'm a complete newb to networking and I'm going to try and explain my doubts to the best of my abilities.

So, to start off, I know that classful networks aren't a thing anymore and what used to be a class C network is now called a /24 network, but I had to include it in the question because I didn't really know any other way to clarify these doubts:

1. If a network starts with 192.168, is it then automatically a /24 network? meaning, would the subnet mask be 255.255.255.0?
2. Is the maximum amount of usable hosts in a "Class C" network 254? for example, if I assign 254 hosts in a 192.168.1.0 network, have I assigned the maximum amount of hosts or can I go to 192.168.2.0 and assign 254 more hosts until I reach the 192.168.255.0 network?

Even as I'm asking this, I can understand how dumb this might all sound but I legitimately don't know how to phrase my question better. I've been going through so many Youtube videos on subnetting and I still can't seem to clarify the doubts I have.