Poker is a card game where players wager chips against each other based on probability and psychology. The aim is to create a poker hand that will outrank the other players’ hands. The player with the best poker hand wins the pot, which is the total amount of money bet during a single betting round. The first step to a winning poker strategy is learning the basic rules of the game and how to read your opponents.

The game begins when each player places their small or big blind bets. Then each player is dealt two cards face-down (hidden from other players). This phase is called the pre-flop. During the pre-flop betting phase, each player has the option to fold (quit the game), call (match another player’s bet), or raise (bet a higher amount than a previous player).

After the pre-flop betting round, three more cards are dealt face up at the center of the table. These are the community cards and can be used by all players to make a five-card poker hand. The next betting round occurs after the flop, and then again after the turn, and finally after the river.

It’s important to play fewer hands in the early positions and expand your range of starting hands as you move later in the position. Also, don’t be afraid to go “all in” when you think you have the best hand. In many cases, this is the right move because it forces other players to commit more of their stack if they think they have you beat.