Poker is a card game for two to 14 players with the aim of winning a pot (the total sum of all bets made by a player). Players can win the pot by making the highest ranking poker hand or by betting more than another player.

A good poker strategy involves learning to read other players. This includes subtle physical poker tells such as scratching the nose or playing nervously with your chips, but also patterns in how they play their cards. For example, if a player tends to fold most of the time then you can assume they are holding fairly weak hands. On the other hand if a player raises most bets then they are probably playing strong poker hands.

In the first betting round, the dealer puts three cards face up on the table which anyone can use (these are called community cards). Each player then gets a chance to call, check or raise.

In the third stage of the betting, a fourth community card is placed on the board (called the turn). Again, each player has an opportunity to call, check or raise. If more than one player remains in contention after the final betting round (called the river) then their cards are revealed and the player with the highest ranked poker hand wins the pot. This is known as a showdown. If a player is all-in during the last betting round then they will only be eligible to win the main pot and not any side pots.