The object of poker is to win the most money by betting and raising based on your knowledge of other players and the strength of your own hand. The best way to do this is by studying your opponents and learning what types of hands they have, how often they bet, how much they raise and how much they fold.
The cards are dealt face up in a circle and players combine their private hand with the community cards to form the strongest poker hand possible. Each round there are three betting actions – the flop, turn and river.
If you have a strong poker hand you want to bet in order to put more money into the pot and force weaker hands out of the game. But you also need to know when to bluff.
When you bet your hand you are saying to the other players that you have a good hand and they should call you. Saying “call” means you are matching the amount of money that was raised before you, so for example if someone raised before you and you have a pair of kings you would say “call” and put your own $10 in the pot.
The highest poker hand is the royal flush which includes a ten, jack, queen, king and ace of the same suit. The next strongest poker hand is four of a kind which includes four of the same cards. Two pairs of cards are the third highest poker hand and high card breaks ties.