Poker is a card game where players bet and raise chips in turn in order to see who has the best hand. The winning player receives the pot. Players can also drop (fold) their cards, which causes them to lose all the chips they have put into the pot that betting round.
The first step in learning poker is to understand how betting works. Each betting interval, or round, begins when the player to the left of you puts up one or more chips into the pot. The next player can choose to call that amount of chips or to raise it. A raised bet must be higher than the previous player’s bet. If a player cannot call the raised bet, they must fold their cards.
Another important skill is to recognize relative hand strength. This means looking at your own cards but thinking about what other people might have in their hands and how they’ll behave. Aggressive players, for example, will often bet high when they have strong hands while conservative players usually only stay in a hand if their cards are good.
Once you’ve learned the basic rules, practice with friends or at online casinos. Many sites offer free poker games that you can play with fake money. There are also a number of poker podcasts and YouTube channels where you can watch professional poker players in action. Many of these videos include commentary and tips that you can learn from.