Poker is a card game where players form hands based on the card rankings to win the pot (the total amount of bets placed in a round). The player who has the best hand wins the pot. The best hand is a royal flush, which is five cards of consecutive ranks in the same suit. Other good hands are four of a kind, three of a kind, straight and flush. Ties are broken by the highest single card.
Before the cards are dealt, all players must place chips into the pot (representing money) according to the rules of the specific poker variant being played. These chips are called the antes, blinds or bring-ins. In addition, each player is required to make a bet of some size when it’s his turn to act. He can “call” the bet by putting in at least as many chips as the player before him, or he can raise his bet.
Since you can’t see your opponents’ hands, every action they take (including calling, raising, checking and folding) gives away bits of information to them, which they piece together to build a story about you and your intentions. Trying to outwit your opponents is an almost never-ending quest that can often backfire. Instead, aim to play strong value hands and charge them for their mistakes by exploiting their desire to chase draws that they can’t afford. This will lead them to overthink their decisions and arrive at wrong conclusions, which will cost them more money in the long run.
