Poker is a card game where players place an amount of money into the pot before each hand. This is called the ante. In some games players must also put a certain amount of chips in the pot before they are eligible to play (called being all-in).
The cards are shuffled and then dealt to the players one at a time, beginning with the player sitting to their left. Each player gets two personal cards which make up their poker hand, and five community cards that everyone can use. If a player has the best poker hand, they win the pot.
Bluffing is an important part of poker, but it can be difficult to master as a beginner. It’s recommended to focus on learning the basics of relative hand strength before trying any bluffing.
When it’s your turn to act, you say “call” to make a bet equal to the last person. For example, if the person to your right just raised their bet and you have a pair of 3s, you would say “call”. This is because your two cards in your hand are low in value and you need to hit a card on the flop or river to improve them. This is called your “outs”. For example, if your opponent has two kings and you have a pair of 3, you need to hit the other king to beat their hand. Then you have a straight.