Poker is a card game where the goal is to make the best five-card hand. You use your own two personal cards and the community cards on the table to do this. The game also involves betting, which is used to generate a pot of chips for the winner. The best hands usually involve pairs, and you can bluff to get more value for your bets.
When your turn comes, you have to put in a bet (representing money) equal to the amount of the bet that came before you, known as calling. You can also raise your bet, which is known as raising. If you raise someone else’s raise, it’s called re-raising. You don’t have to say “call” or re-raise, but most players will do so.
After the first betting round is complete the dealer puts three more community cards on the table, face up. This is the flop. After the flop there is another betting round, this time starting with the player to their left.
As you play more hands, you’ll start to know what everyone is holding by the way they bet. For example, if the guy to your left keeps betting on a flop that is A-2-6, you can guess that he has a pair of 2’s and is trying for a three of a kind. You can then make educated guesses about what other people are holding, which will help you win more often.
