Poker is a card game where you don’t know your opponent’s cards, and you try to make the best 5-card hand using your own two cards and the five community cards on the table. When you have the best hand, you win the pot – all of the money that has been bet so far. Sometimes there is a tie between players with the best hands, and the money is split evenly.

In each round of betting, the player to the left of the dealer places 2 mandatory bets into the pot called blinds. These bets give all players an incentive to play, as they can win the pot if they have a good hand. After the players have a chance to check their own cards, 3 cards are dealt face up into the center of the table called the flop. There is another round of betting, and then 1 more card is dealt face up called the river.

A player can raise the amount of their bet by saying “raise” when it is their turn, if they want to add more money to the pot. Other players can choose to call the new bet or fold. If a player doesn’t raise enough to match the last raised bet, they must fold their cards.

There are many different strategies for playing poker, and the most successful players understand how to read their opponents’ tells. These are unconscious habits that reveal information about the strength of a player’s hand, and can include changes in eye contact, facial expressions, body language, and gestures.