Poker is hugely popular for many reasons: it’s social, you can play for free or for money and there’s a lot of deep strategy involved. If you want to start playing, the best way is to find a local game or group of friends who are already playing and ask them to let you join in. Then, you can practice making good decisions without worrying about losing any money.

The dealer deals five cards to the table and each player gets to place their bets in any order they choose. The first round of betting is called the ante. This is a small amount of money that all players must put up in order to be dealt into the hand. Once the antes have been placed, each player places their bets on the flop, turn and river. The best five-card poker hand wins the pot.

Once the flop has been dealt, the dealer puts three more community cards on the board that anyone can use (this is called the turn). At this point the best poker hands begin to take shape. Ideally, you’ll have two cards of equal rank and three unrelated side cards. Three of a kind gives you three matching cards of the same rank, while a straight contains five consecutive cards in one suit. A flush contains five cards of the same suit but not in consecutive order, while a full house consists of three matching cards of the same rank and two unmatched side cards.

If your pocket pair of kings is facing an ace on the flop, it’s time to start thinking about folding. Even though a pair of kings is a strong hand, it will be beaten by most people on the flop.

It’s important to think about your position and how your opponents are betting. This will give you a better idea of what your odds are of winning. Also, always bet more than you call. This will make you look stronger than you actually are and give you more bluffing opportunities.

It’s also a good idea to focus on learning one thing at a time. Too many players bounce around in their studies and don’t get anything out of them. For example, they might watch a cbet video on Monday, then read a 3bet article on Tuesday and listen to a podcast about tilt management on Wednesday. By studying ONE topic at a time, you can improve your odds of making good decisions. This will help you achieve your poker goals more quickly.