Poker is a card game where players bet in order to win a pot (the aggregate of all the bets made). The player with the best hand wins the pot. The game can be played by any number of people, but ideal numbers are between 6 and 8. Players put an initial amount into the pot before cards are dealt, called antes or blinds.
The player to the left of the dealer starts by revealing their cards, one at a time. They try to beat the high card in the middle. There are a variety of hands that can be made, including a pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, and even a full house.
If your opponent has a good enough hand, they will probably raise their bet to make it expensive for you to call. That is why you need to know when it’s worth putting more money into the pot with your strong hands.
Every action you take, including when you check or fold, gives away bits of information to your opponents. Those bits help them build a story about your hand strength, and often determine whether you have the nuts or not. It’s important to mix it up and play a balanced style, so that your opponents don’t always know what you have. If they do, you’ll never get paid off on your big hands and your bluffs will likely fail.