In poker, you compete for the pot – the prize money awarded to the player with the best hand. The game has many different variants, rules and strategies, but minimizing losses with poor hands and maximising winnings is the underlying skill that all players need to develop.
Before the cards are dealt, each player places a contribution into the pot – this is called an ante. This is the amount that a player must raise or call in order to stay in the hand. This amount varies from one poker variant to another and is required to be placed by every player in turn until it becomes their turn to act again.
When your turn comes, you can check (showing that you have a weak or average hand and don’t want to bet more), call, or raise. If the person to your right has raised, you must call their bet or raise if you want to remain in the hand.
The best hand is a royal flush, which contains all 5 cards of the same rank in sequence and from the same suit. A straight flush is 5 consecutive cards of different ranks, while a three of a kind is three matching cards of the same rank and a pair is two distinct cards. High card breaks ties.
There are many more hands, but these are the most commonly used. If you are an advanced player, it is important to study some of the less common hands and their variations in order to increase your chances of success. Lastly, practice and observe experienced players to develop your own instincts, but always do several shuffles before betting!