Poker is a card game where the goal is to win the pot, which is all bets made in a single deal. There are many forms of poker, but most of them involve the same basic rules.
The game starts with each player putting up an amount of money called the ante or blind bet (or both). The dealer then shuffles the cards, and players begin betting on their hands. There may be several betting rounds before all cards are revealed at the showdown. During the betting rounds, cards may be replaced or added to a hand depending on the rules of your game.
If you have a strong hand, bet aggressively. This will push players with weaker hands out of the pot and increase the value of your hand. There’s nothing worse than underplaying a pair of Kings and getting beaten by someone who checked before the flop with 8-4 and somehow caught a Straight when the turn and river came in.
Learn to read other players’ “tells.” These aren’t necessarily the subtle physical tells you see in movies such as scratching your nose or fiddling with your chips, but more the way a player plays. If a player always calls and never raises, they are probably playing some crappy cards. Likewise, if someone makes a big raise on the flop you can assume they are holding a solid hand. This is important because it allows you to know whether you should call their raise or fold.
