Poker is a card game played by two or more people. The aim is to form the highest-ranking poker hand possible based on the cards in your possession, and win the pot at the end of each betting round. The pot is the aggregate of bets placed by players at the table, and you can win it by having the best hand or by making a bet that no other player calls, forcing them to fold.

The dealer shuffles the cards, the player to their right cuts, and then the dealer deals each player their cards one at a time, starting with the player on their left. The dealer then collects and places all bets into the central pot. In some cases, the pot may be divided between players depending on the rules of the particular poker variant being played.

Observe the way more experienced players react during gameplay to help build your own instincts. In particular, focus on the by-play between players – who flinched, smiled or didn’t even blink – as this will often reveal more about their strategy than a description of what actually happened on the table. It’s also worth noting the amount of time spent when a player is not in the action. This downtime can be an opportunity to pick up information about a player, such as how many times they have raised their hand and what their tendencies are in other situations.