The game of poker is a card game in which players wager money on the outcome of a hand. The player with the highest ranked hand wins the pot. The hand rankings are determined by the value of the cards in each suit, including the Ace.

Poker is a game of chance, but it also involves a great deal of psychology and skill. The basic rules of poker are very simple: bet when you have a strong hand and fold when you don’t. However, the more you play the better you will become at reading your opponents and predicting their actions.

To understand the game you should start by learning about position. The player to the left of the dealer is called EP and should always be playing extremely tight, opening only with strong hands pre-flop. The player to their right is MP and should be able to open a bit wider, but still only with good hands. The player in the middle is BB and should be able to open a little wider than MP and EP.

Once you have the basic principles down you can start to learn about poker strategy by studying your opponent’s actions and reading their body language. A lot of this information can be gained from subtle physical poker tells, but a large part comes from understanding their patterns. A player who checks regularly with a weak hand likely has a lot of weak hands.