Poker is a card game where players place chips (representing money) into the pot when it’s their turn to act. The player with the best 5-card hand wins the pot – or all the money that was put down as buy-ins by all the players in that round. Ties occur when two players have identical hands; if this is the case, the players split any winnings equally.

Each player gets 2 personal cards, and the table has 5 community cards to use. The first round of betting is called the flop, and it’s at this point that you can judge your own hand’s strength by comparing it to the cards you see on the board. Players often raise or fold at this stage, but you can also try to bluff.

A third card is revealed after the flop, and this is called the Turn. Another round of checking, calling, raising and folding takes place. If you have a strong poker hand at this point, it’s worth continuing to raise the pot size, so that opponents who are weaker can be scared off and fold before showdown.

There are many different poker games, but they all use the same basic rules. Unlike other games, where luck is a major factor, poker is a game of skill and mental discipline. The most successful players learn to stay in control and focus on the emotional state of their opponents, which allows them to make better decisions. They aim to maximise the value of their winning hands, and minimise losses from losing ones. This is known as the ‘MinMax’ strategy.