Poker is a card game that involves betting on the strength of your hand. There are several rules that must be followed but the main concept is to win by playing a strong hand with the highest possible probability of winning. This can be done by betting with either your own money or your opponents. The money that goes into the pot is placed voluntarily and is determined by the players on the basis of their expected value of the hand and various strategic reasons.
As the game progresses you will learn to read the other players. This is not as hard as it may seem. A large part of this comes from observing patterns. If a player is betting all the time then it’s pretty safe to assume that they are holding strong hands most of the time. If you see someone scratching their nose or playing nervously with their chips then they probably have a crappy hand.
After the antes have been put in and everyone has two cards they will begin to bet. When it is your turn to bet you will say “call” or “raise.” Calling means that you are putting up the same amount as the person before you and raises mean that you want to put in more than what they did.
After the first round of betting is complete the dealer will deal three more cards face up on the board that anyone can use. This is called the flop. Once the flop is dealt there will be another betting round. At this point you should be able to decide whether to keep your hand or fold it.