Poker is a card game where players bet against each other, showing their cards in order to win the pot. Each player must place an ante before betting begins.
Once the ante has been placed the dealer deals each player five cards. Then there is a round of betting and whoever has the best five-card hand wins the pot. Players may also choose to bluff. This is when they pretend to have a good hand but are actually holding a weak one, and hope that players with superior hands will call their bets.
Improve Your Range
Most beginners stick to playing only strong starting hands but if you want to win more pots you have to play a wider range of hands. This means opening more hands pre-flop and raising more in late position.
Position
Having better position at the table is a fundamental that can make or break your poker career. Whenever possible you should raise hands in late position and call with fewer hands in early position.
Pay attention to your opponents and watch their patterns. Most of the reads in poker aren’t subtle physical “tells” but instead come from consistent patterns. If a player always folds then you can bet they are playing some very crappy hands. However, if they raise all the time then they probably have some very strong ones. This is called playing the player and it is a key skill in poker.