Poker is a card game that involves betting in rounds. Each player is dealt a hand of cards and then takes turns betting based on their best 5-card hand. The player with the best hand wins all of the money in the pot. During the betting phase, players may fold, check (not bet), call (match a previous player’s bet amount), or raise (bet a higher amount than the last person).
The first step in becoming a better poker player is learning to read your opponents. Every action you make, including a simple call or check, gives your opponent information about what kind of hand they have. This information can be used to build a story about your opponent and their likelihood of having a strong hand that beats yours.
If you have a good chance of winning your hand with just a few cards, it’s worth raising to price all the worse hands out of the pot. This is the most reliable way to win the game.
When you’re not raising, you should be folding or betting aggressively to get the best odds of winning your hand. This is the balanced approach that separates professional poker players from casual players. It’s not easy to resist the urge to play recklessly, but it pays off in the long run.