Poker is a game of cards where players wager chips representing money. There are many variants of poker, but in most forms the object is to win the pot – the sum of all bets placed by all players on any deal. The pot may be won by having the highest poker hand or by making a bet that no other player calls. In most games there are one or more betting intervals, with the players’ hands developing during each round.

The first step in learning poker is to understand your opponent’s range of hands. This is a hard concept to master, but once you can put your opponent on a range you can make much more educated decisions about how to play your hand. The time it takes an opponent to act and the size of their bet can all give you clues as to what kind of hand they might have.

Before the cards are dealt each player must place a compulsory bet, either an ante or a blind bet. The dealer then shuffles the cards and deals them one at a time, beginning with the player to his or her right. The player to the left of the dealer has the option to cut the cards, and if they do not wish to cut then they must offer them to the person to their right for a cut.

When it is your turn to act you must decide whether to call the bet made by the person to your left, raise it or fold. If you call you must put in chips representing money into the pot equal to that raised by the previous player. If you raise the bet then you must place chips into the pot equal to or greater than that raised by the previous player.

After the first betting round is over the dealer puts three more cards face up on the table which are called community cards and anyone can use them. This is the second betting round and once again you must bet or fold your hand.

The third betting round is when the dealer puts a fifth community card on the board, this is called the river. The fourth and final betting round is when the showdown is played where each player must declare their best 5 card poker hand. The winner is declared. Players can also choose to pass on the showdown, if they wish. The best way to learn how to play poker is to play it with friends at home or join an online poker room that offers play money tables. These are usually free to join and the software is easy to use. There are also great mobile poker apps for playing on the go!