Poker is a card game in which players wager chips (representing money) by forming a hand. The highest ranking hand wins the pot, which consists of all wagers placed during that hand. There are various poker variants, but the most popular is Texas hold’em.
When it’s your turn to act in a hand, you should say “call” if you want to match the bet of the player before you. For example, if the person to your right has just raised their bet by $10, you should call to place that amount of chips or cash into the pot.
You should try to play your hands aggressively when you have a strong one. You want to force weaker players to either fold or bluff against you. A pair of Kings isn’t bad off the deal, but it can be destroyed by a solid bluff or an ace on the flop.
Reading up on poker is a great way to increase your knowledge of the game. Studying poker blogs, articles, videos and other incredible resources will provide you with a huge advantage at the tables. Over time you will develop an intuition for things like frequencies and EV estimation. You’ll also learn to read tells from your opponents, such as their eyes, idiosyncrasies and betting behavior. These tells can give you valuable clues as to their strength of hand and even their bluffing intentions. This information will help you make sound decisions when it’s your turn to act.
