The Basics of Poker
Poker is a game of cards in which players wager against each other. The highest-ranking hand wins the pot. A pair of matching cards and three unrelated cards form a straight; four of a kind makes a flush; and a full house is made up of three of a kind and two pairs. There are many variants of the game, with variations in the number of cards dealt and the method of betting.
In most games a player must put up some amount of money (the ante, typically a small amount like a nickel) before they can be dealt in. After that betting continues in a circular fashion around the table, and the person with the highest hand at the end of the betting round wins the pot.
Position is Very Important
As a beginner it’s a good idea to focus on positions and relative hand strength more than bluffing until you feel comfortable with both of those areas. Bluffing is an integral part of the game and there’s a lot to learn about it, but playing it aggressively won’t give you much of a chance to succeed if you don’t understand your opponent’s ranges and relative hand strength.
Sometimes new players are looking for cookie-cutter advice, and they want to see a coach tell them “always 3bet X hands”. The problem with this is that every spot is unique, and it’s impossible for one line of strategy to be right in all spots.