Poker is a card game where players compete to win pots (money or chips) by taking part in rounds of betting. The game can be played by two to seven players and requires a standard 52 card English deck, plus one or more jokers/wild cards.

The first step to becoming a great poker player is learning the rules of the game. This will help you to make correct decisions over time, which will lead to winning results.

Once you’ve mastered the rules, it’s important to think beyond your own cards and to consider what other players might have in their hands. This will help you to make better bets and raises, even when you don’t have the best hand yourself. It’s also helpful to learn how to read other players and to understand their tells – for example, if you notice that an opponent is making a lot of calls but then suddenly raises, it could be a sign that they have a strong hand.

Another crucial aspect of poker is being able to control the price of the pot, which means that you should bet aggressively when you have a strong value hand. This will force weaker hands out of the pot and increase the value of your own hand. On the other hand, if you have a mediocre or drawing hand, it’s best to call to keep the size of the pot manageable and avoid giving away too many chips.