Poker is a card game where players place wagers to win a pot. There are many variations of poker, but they all share the same basic rules. The goal of poker is to create a strong poker hand or convince other players that you have the best hand (even if you don’t).
Before a hand begins, players put up the ante amount of money (this varies by game). Once everyone has anted up it’s time for the cards to be dealt. The dealer deals 3 cards face up on the table (community cards that anyone can use). This is called the flop.
After the flop, betting starts with the player to the left of the dealer. When it is your turn, you can say “call” to put up the same amount as the last person or “raise” to add more to the betting pool.
Once all the bets are placed it’s time for the “showdown” where the top 5 poker hands are revealed. The highest hand wins the pot.
A good poker player pays close attention to their opponents. This isn’t necessarily looking for subtle physical poker tells but instead recognizing patterns in the way that players play their cards. For example, if a player plays their cards pretty tight then it’s likely that they are holding a strong hand. Likewise, if a player tends to bluff a lot then it’s safe to assume they are holding a weak one.
