Poker is a card game played by a group of players around a table. Each player puts in an amount (the ante) and is then dealt cards. Then the player places bets into a pot, and the highest hand wins the pot. Players may also bluff, betting that they have the best hand while trying to make other players fold.

Each player has two cards which they can combine with the five community cards to make a poker hand. The player who has the best 5 card hand wins the “pot” – all the bets made at each round.

There are many variations of Poker. However, in general a poker hand is composed of five cards of one rank and another. A pair contains two cards of the same rank, a full house has 3 matching cards and a straight is any five consecutive cards from more than one suit. A flush is 5 cards of the same suit, and a royal flush is 10 through Ace of the same suit.

As you play more and more hands, your instincts will develop and you’ll begin to know what your opponent is doing at all times. Learn to watch for tells, which are not just nervous habits like fiddling with chips or a ring, but also how the player plays – how often they raise, how high they bet. Watch how the experienced players react and learn from their mistakes to build your own good instincts.