Poker is a card game played by two or more players. Each player has a hand of five cards and competes with the other players for the pot. There are many variations of poker, but they all have the same basic rules. Players must bet based on the strength of their hand and their assessment of their opponent’s move. The best hands win the most money.

When the cards are dealt players take turns betting. The player who has the best 5-card hand wins the pot. Each round has a betting phase and a showdown phase. Players can raise or fold their hand during the betting phase.

A common mistake that beginner players make is thinking about a hand in isolation. This leads to a lot of mistakes and is inefficient. Instead, you should learn to think in ranges. This means imagining your opponent’s likely hand range and playing against it.

If you’re new to the game, you should start out by learning the basic rules and the rankings of different hands. Once you’ve mastered these, you can progress to more advanced strategies.

There are also several tells that can indicate if a player has a good or bad hand. For example, if a player’s breathing is shallow or they make sighing sounds, they are probably holding a strong hand. If their face flushes or they sweat a lot, they’re probably trying to conceal something. Also, if they stare you down and appear nervous, they’re probably bluffing.