Poker is a game of reading your opponent and applying pressure to make them fold. Getting this right is just as important as the cards you’re dealt. That’s why it’s so important to learn the basics of the game before you dive in.
To start with the basics of poker you’ll need to understand how to read a table and the different betting structures. The best way to do this is by watching experienced players and trying to figure out how they’re assessing the situation and the pressure. The more you practice this the quicker you’ll develop your own instincts.
Once you have the basic rules down it’s time to learn how to play poker hands. The first thing to understand is that the higher the hand you have the better your chances of winning. The highest poker hand is called the Royal Flush, which includes a 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of the same suit. This can only be beaten by another Royal Flush or the Straight Flush. The second highest poker hand is Four of a Kind, which contains four cards of the same rank (but different suits) and the fifth card can be any card. This beats Two Pair and Three of a Kind.
In each betting round a player must either call or raise the amount of chips they put into the pot. A player who calls will match the amount raised by the player to their left. They will say “call” or “I call” to indicate they are calling the bet.
If you don’t want to bet you can check, which means you pass on the chance to raise or call. But if you do check you must remain in the hand for at least the next betting interval.
After each betting round the dealer deals three more cards face up on the board. These are community cards that anyone can use. This is known as the flop. Then a final betting round takes place.
A good poker player will also know how to hide their tells, which are unconscious physical clues as to the strength of their hand. These can include facial or body tics, staring too long at the cards, and nervous habits such as biting your nails. It’s not easy to master these skills, but with practice they will become second nature.
Finally, a good poker player will also be able to keep track of the numbers in their head. This can be as simple as counting the number of times a player has a combo or blocker, but it can also be more complex such as estimating their EV for each move they make. This is a skill that takes some practice to master, but it’s worth learning as early on as possible. Watching poker training videos and using poker software will help ingrain this into your mind. It’s also worth reviewing past hands that went badly to see what you can learn from them.