Poker is a card game where players try to form the highest-value hand from their own cards and the community cards. The highest-ranking hand wins the pot, which is the sum of all betting bets by all players.
The first step to becoming a good poker player is learning the rules of the game and understanding the various strategies. A good place to start is by reading a few strategy books. Find one that is written recently and contains up-to-date information on the game as it has evolved over time.
After that, you should study each situation you find yourself in during games and note how well you did or didn’t do in that particular spot. This will help you develop a more complete range of hands that you should play and will also allow you to identify your weaknesses so you can focus on improving.
When you’re in a position to act during a round of poker, you can either check (when you don’t have a strong enough hand to bet) or raise a bet. If you raise a bet, the other players will usually have to call your raised amount to stay in the hand.
You should always be aware of the size of your opponents’ chip stacks and their betting patterns, as these factors will impact how much you should bet on your own hands. A good way to keep track of this information is by using an online poker calculator, which will show you how much your bets should be in a given situation.