Poker is a card game with a lot of skill and psychology involved. Unlike other card games that are solely based on chance, poker is a game where players bet against each other to create the best possible 5 card hand.
Before the cards are dealt players place an initial amount into the pot called antes, blinds, or bring-ins. Once the forced bets are placed, each player gets 2 cards face down and then decides whether to stay, hit, or double up. Saying stay means that you want to keep your two cards and continue betting into the pot, saying hit means that you’re going to play your hand aggressively and that you want another card (or more) from the dealer, and saying double up means that you are going to split your two cards into three hands.
Once the first round of betting is complete the dealer puts 3 more cards on the table that anyone can use, this is called the flop. After this the second round of betting begins.
If you have a strong starting hand, bet into the pot, this will force weaker hands to call or raise and increase the value of your hand. When your hand isn’t strong, bet small.
One of the most important things to learn about poker is how to read other players. This isn’t easy, but over time you’ll start to develop an intuition for things like frequency and EV estimation. When you have a good feel for these, you’ll be able to narrow down what other people are holding very easily.
