Poker is a card game in which you compete with other players to make the best five-card hand possible. While it can be a frustrating game, especially when you’re new to it, it can also be extremely exciting and profitable.

Each player starts with 2 cards face down. When it’s your turn to act you can choose to raise the ante, call, or fold. When betting, you must place your chips in front of you for the other players and dealer to see. Saying “call” means you want to match the bet made by the person before you. Saying “raise” means you’re raising the previous player’s bet by at least double. Finally, saying “fold” means you’re giving up your cards to the dealer face down without putting any chips in.

Once everyone has called or raised the bet the dealer deals a fourth community card on the table. This is known as the ‘turn’ and a second round of betting takes place. After the final betting phase, called the ‘river’, all the remaining players must show their cards. The player with the highest ranked poker hand wins the pot.

It’s important to look beyond your own cards and think about what your opponents have. By doing this you’ll be able to make better decisions about how to play your hand, and can predict what type of bets they might make. This can give you an advantage over them by making you more likely to bet when they have a good hand, and to fold when they have a bad one.