Poker is a card game that is played by two or more people. It’s a game of strategy and bluffing that can be very addicting. There are many different variants of the game but the basic rules are similar. The game consists of betting over a series of rounds and the person with the best five-card hand wins the pot at the end of the game.

Players start the game by putting up a small amount of money into the pot. This is called the ante. Then each player is dealt two cards face down and they can decide whether to raise, call, or fold their hand. If they feel that their card value is high, they can say “stay” and the dealer will give them a third card. If they think their card value is low, then they can say “hit” and the dealer will give them another card.

Once all players have acted in the first round of betting, the dealer will deal three more cards face up on the table. These are called community cards and everyone can use them. There is another round of betting after this and then the fifth community card, called the river, is revealed.

For beginners, understanding starting hands and position is essential as it sets the stage for their decision-making throughout the game. Advanced players can take a more sophisticated approach to their decision-making by analyzing the range of possible hands that their opponents could hold.