A popular game of chance, Poker involves betting and bluffing to determine how strong your opponent’s hand is. The first step to learning the game is observing how experienced players react, analyzing the tells and their body language for clues as to how strong or weak their hand might be.
Depending on the rules of your game, you may be required to put an initial amount into the pot before the cards are dealt, called antes, blinds, or bring-ins. Once play begins, you must say “call” to match the previous raise and continue the hand or “fold,” which is a forfeit of your turn and any money you have placed in the pot.
Once the cards are revealed, each player aims to create the best five card poker hand from their own two personal cards in their hands and the community cards on the table. Your goal is to win the pot (all the chips bet so far), but if you don’t have a good enough hand, you must either call or fold, allowing your opponents to raise their bets and take control of the game.
Advanced players try to anticipate their opponent’s range, which is the full spectrum of possible poker hands they might have in a given situation, for example, ace-high, bottom pair, a draw or a flush. They also try to figure out how their opponents play and look for physical tells, such as a limp or a raise, in order to decide what their own poker strategy should be.