Poker is a game of cards where players place bets on the probability of making a certain hand. The goal is to win the “pot,” which is the sum of all the bets made during a hand. The pot can be won by having the highest-ranking hand or by bluffing and getting opponents to fold. The most common poker variants are Texas Hold’em, Omaha and 5 Card Draw.

The first step to becoming a winning poker player is learning how to read the game’s rules. This includes learning the basics of how poker chips are used, as well as understanding how betting works. Once you understand the rules, you can start playing the game in a more strategic way.

While there are many different strategies to playing poker, the most important one is to always have a long-term expectation. This means that you should be raising more hands in late position and calling fewer hands in early position than your opponents do, all other things being equal.

In addition, you should always try to deceive your opponents. This can be done by mixing up your betting range and by using a variety of bluffing tactics. This way, your opponents will never know exactly what you have in your hand and will be more likely to fold when you make a strong bluff. This will allow you to make more money from your big hands and also win the pot more often by bluffing with weaker hands.