Poker is a card game played by two or more players. Each player puts a number of chips into the pot at the start of each betting interval, or round. A player can say “call” to put the same number of chips into the pot as the person to their left, or they can say “raise” to raise the amount they put into the pot. They can also choose to “drop” by leaving the hand and losing any chips they had already placed in the pot.

When a player doesn’t have a strong poker hand they can try to win by bluffing. They do this by betting more than the other players, hoping to make them believe they have a good poker hand and are likely to win. A strong bluff can often cause the other players to call the bet.

It’s very important to have a plan when playing poker, a strategy that you can change if something unexpected happens. This is because poker can be a very stressful game, and you don’t want to show that to your opponents. A well-planned poker strategy teaches you to stay calm and think logically in stressful situations. This skill can be useful in all walks of life.