Poker is a card game that involves betting and requires skill and psychology. While luck plays a major role in any individual hand, the twin elements of skill and strategy eliminate the effects of chance in the long run.
Players ante up an amount (amounts vary by game, ours are typically a nickel) and are then dealt cards. Each player then places their bets into the pot, in turn. When all bets have been placed, the highest hand wins the pot.
As you play, it’s important to be able to read your opponent. Their body language and manner of speech will give away whether they have a strong or weak hand. Their breathing patterns, the speed of their movements, and even the size of their chips will tell you how much they’re bluffing or holding. These “tells” are all part of a larger system of body language and behavior that’s called poker strategy.
Tight poker players are careful and deliberate in all aspects of the game, dressing modestly, stacking their chips neatly, and talking seldomly. Loose poker players, on the other hand, are more freewheeling and impulsive, prone to impatience and chattiness at the table. They’re also more likely to bluff, as a way of trying to intimidate their opponents and scare them into calling.