The Basics of Poker
There are many different forms of poker and each has its own rules but all have the same basic principles. The object of the game is to use your two personal cards and the five community cards on the table to make a winning hand of five cards.
Each hand begins with an ante, which is a compulsory bet that must be made by every player. Then, in turn, each player can choose to call the bet by putting the same amount into the pot as the previous player or raise the bet by adding more chips to the pot. Players can also fold if they don’t have a good hand or want to drop out of the betting round.
Once the first betting round is complete the dealer puts three cards on the table that everyone can use. This is called the flop. Once again players can check, call, raise or fold. After the flop another card is dealt face up and again players can continue to check, call, raise or fold. After all the remaining cards are exposed the highest ranked poker hand wins the pot.
The key to winning poker is understanding how to read your opponents. This can be done through subtle physical tells such as scratching your nose or playing with your chips but it’s more often done by paying attention to patterns. For example, if a player always raises when they check then you can assume they’re holding some pretty strong cards.