Poker is a card game where the goal is to win a pot, which contains all the bets made during a hand. The best way to do this is by making other players fold (abandon their hands). You can do this by betting aggressively, or by playing your cards in a way that suggests you have the best hand possible.
The first thing you need to understand is the betting structure. The game starts with an ante, which is the first amount of money everyone puts in before seeing their cards. Each player then has the option to call, raise, or fold their hand. A raise is increasing the previous highest bet by a certain amount, while calling means matching that bet. You can also check, which is simply calling without putting any chips into the pot. You can even raise a check, which is known as a re-raise.
Once you understand the basics of the betting structure, it’s time to learn a little bit about relative hand strength. This is a skill that separates beginners from pros. In order to become a good player, you need to look beyond your own cards and think about what other people might have in their hands. You can do this by studying your opponents’ behavior and betting based on what you think they’ll do.
You’ll also want to practice your draws. Many new players are too passive with their draws, which is a huge mistake. They’ll call every bet and hope to hit, but they could have a much better hand if they bluffed their opponent into folding.