Poker is a card game in which players make bets by raising, calling or folding. The best hand wins the pot. Players can also win by bluffing. This is an advanced strategy, however it should be used sparingly as it can backfire if your opponent knows you’re trying to bluff.
A good poker player can read their opponents well. They can look for physical tells and they can use this information to work out the range of hands that their opponent might have. This helps them to determine whether it is worth calling their bets or not.
The first step in becoming a better poker player is to decide what you are going to focus on and then start keeping track of your results. Once you have a decent amount of data, you can analyse it to see what your weaknesses are and where you can improve.
A good way to build your comfort with taking risks is to start small and then gradually increase the size of the risk you are willing to take. The key is to learn from your mistakes and not get discouraged by them. You will always lose some hands, but if you learn from your mistakes and don’t let them derail your progress, then you will be making money before you know it.