A game of poker involves betting, raising and folding cards to create a winning hand. One of the most important skills in poker is reading your opponents. A good player is able to read their opponent’s body language and make adjustments accordingly. The game is also a mental game, where a player’s ability to think fast is crucial to the success of their strategy.

The first step in learning to play poker is familiarizing yourself with the rules of the game. This includes knowing what hands are stronger than others, and understanding card rankings and the order of play. Once you have a solid grasp of the basics, it’s time to begin playing the game for real.

There are several different types of poker games, but all are played with the same basic rules. Each game is started with an ante, which is a small amount of money that all players must put up before they can see their cards. Once the ante has been placed, each player will then take their turn to either call the bet made by the previous player, or raise it.

The higher the hand, the better. The best hand is a royal flush, which consists of a King, Queen, Jack and Ace of the same suit. Straights and flushes can be made up of any five consecutive cards of the same suit, while a pair is made up of two matching cards of the same rank and three unmatched side cards.