Poker is a card game where players place chips into the pot (representing money) each time they bet in a hand. Players can also fold if they don’t like their cards. The player with the best poker hand wins the pot.
The cards are shuffled and dealt in intervals, called betting rounds, depending on the poker variant being played. During each betting interval one player, called the button, has the privilege or obligation to make the first bet. The players to his left must raise or call the amount of the bet if they wish to stay in the hand.
When you have a strong poker hand, such as a pair or an overpair, you can say “hit” to bet more than the person to your left. You can also say “stay” if you want to keep your poker hand and don’t want to bet more than the player to your left.
A strong poker player focuses on understanding their opponents as much as their own cards. They will read an opponent’s range of hands and try to predict what kind of poker hand they might hold. This is what separates advanced poker players from beginners. Beginners tend to focus on their own cards and often don’t look at the entire spectrum of an opponent’s hands. They also play too cautiously and get shoved around by stronger players who see them as easy pickings. Learn to play aggressively and you’ll soon command the respect of other players at your table.