Poker is a card game in which players bet against one another by placing chips into a pot. The pot grows as players call bets and raise them. The betting is done in rounds, and the player to the left of the dealer acts first. In each round, a player can fold (exit the hand), check (place no bet), bet (put money into the pot), or call (match a previous player’s bet).

When playing poker, knowing when to bet and when to fold is an art and a science. It is important to stick to best practices and make the most accurate decisions possible, but you also need to be able to adapt on the fly.

Often, experienced players use their opponents’ behavior to gauge the strength of their hands. For example, if a player raises a bet, it is a good idea to assume they have a strong hand, and you should bet accordingly.

However, there are many other ways to signal strength or weakness, and it is important to study how other players play the game. This will help you to understand the fundamentals of the game and develop a winning strategy. Eventually, you’ll start to have an intuition for things like frequencies and EV estimation. This will make your decision-making process much easier in the long run. The more you practice, the better you’ll become. There are many online poker sites where you can play for free and get a feel for the game.