Poker is a game of cards where players compete to make the best five card hand. Usually this involves getting two personal cards in your hand plus the community cards on the table. There are four rounds of betting in a poker game: before the “flop,” after the “turn,” and finally after the “river” (the fifth and final community card). Each player places their bets into a pot, which is collected by the players sitting to their left. Then there’s a showdown where the best hand wins.

The first thing to learn about poker is how to recognize the best hands. This is not a complicated process but you need to be familiar with the different types of hands and how they rank. It’s also important to understand relative hand strength and where you stand at the table.

If you have two matching cards of one rank, it’s a pair. Three matching cards of a different rank makes a flush. Four of a kind makes a straight. High card breaks ties in case you have multiple pairs or the same pair of cards.

Another important skill to learn is knowing when to fold. If you have a weak hand and you’re faced with a strong bet, it can be tempting to keep calling but you will be losing money in the long run. Instead, you should fold if the cards on the board indicate that your hand isn’t good.