In poker you play your cards against other players’ hands in a game of chance and psychology. The best way to learn is to practice and watch others play so you can develop quick instincts.

The game starts with each player placing an ante, which is the amount of money they have to put up to be dealt into a hand. After everyone has placed their antes the dealer shuffles the deck and deals each player four cards face down. Once everybody has their cards they can then decide to call, raise or fold. The player who has the highest ranked hand at the end of the betting round wins the pot – all the money that was placed into the pot during that hand.

Poker is a card game with five ranks based on their odds (probability). The higher the rank, the more likely you are to win. There are also ties that are broken by the highest unmatched card, the high pair or secondary pairs in a full house (three matching cards of one rank and two matching cards of another rank). Some games have wild cards that take on whatever suit you want them to.

When betting rounds start one person, or the player to their left if they’re new to the table, has the privilege of raising or calling. This privilege, or the obligation to raise or call, is passed around the table in turn between each deal. Eventually this will become second nature and you won’t even be conscious of it. Over time you’ll find that the math that’s required for frequency and EV estimation begins to ingrain itself in your subconscious, making it easier to consider these things on a more automatic basis during a hand.