Poker is a card game in which players place bets on the outcome of a hand, often bluffing and using strategy. It is played with a standard 52 card deck of English cards and can be played by two to seven players. Players can opt to use one or more jokers/wild cards. The game is played in betting rounds and a pot is created for all players’ bets. Money is only placed into the pot by a player when they believe that their bet has positive expected value or are trying to bluff other players. These decisions are made on the basis of probability, psychology and game theory.

Players may fold, call or raise. A raised bet indicates that the player wants to increase the amount of money they are wagering on the next round of betting. A folded hand signifies that the player does not want to play anymore.

A winning hand is made up of cards of a certain rank in sequence or in a set (eg. a straight or flush) or a pair. A straight is 5 cards of consecutive rank in one suit, a flush is 5 matching cards of any rank, and a three of a kind is 3 matching cards of the same rank plus two unmatched cards.

It is important to be able to read the other players and learn their tells such as a players eye movements, idiosyncrasies, betting patterns etc. The aim is to get a good understanding of your opponents and be able to make adjustments on the fly as the hand develops.