Poker is a card game where players place bets on the possibility of making a winning hand. The outcome of any individual hand significantly involves chance, but in the long run, poker has a large component of skill and psychology. Players make decisions based on probability, psychology and game theory to maximize their expected profits.

Each player has a certain number of “chips” that they can use to bet on the outcome of a hand. The game starts with each player being dealt two cards (referred to as their “hand”) and five community cards are then dealt (“the flop”). The goal of the game is to make the best 5 card hand using your own two cards and the community cards. Players then show their cards and the person with the best hand wins.

One of the key skills to learn is how to read an opponent’s range. This means that you can figure out what type of cards they have and how likely it is that they will beat you if you call or raise a bet. A good example would be when you have a strong pre-flop hand like AQ and you want to reduce the chances of an opponent beating you with an unlucky flop.

Another important skill is knowing when to fold. Sometimes you will have a terrible hand and it is not worth playing. This is particularly important when you are facing a player who has a good read on your behavior.