Poker is a card game that involves betting. It is a game of chance but with good bluffing and psychology it can become a game of skill.

There are a few things you need to know before you start playing poker. First you need to understand how the betting works. The player to the left of the dealer controls the action. He/she must post a small blind and a big blind before any cards are dealt. These bets force players to make a decision on every hand.

When the cards are dealt everyone has a choice to call, raise or fold. If you are holding a good hand you should usually call or raise. This will get other players to fold their hands and can win you the hand. If you have a weak hand you should usually fold.

A good poker player tries to figure out their opponent’s range and avoids exploitative strategies. This requires a lot of observation and understanding your opponents’ tendencies. It also means learning how to read other players’ tells such as eye movements, idiosyncrasies, hand gestures and betting behavior.

Another important concept to learn is how to play a hand with the best odds. This is called a straight or a flush. A straight contains five consecutive cards of the same suit. A flush contains two matching cards of one rank and two matching cards of another rank. A three of a kind is made up of 3 cards of the same rank and a pair is 2 matching cards of one rank with an additional unmatched card.