Poker is a card game, played by two or more players against each other. Players bet on the strength of their hands and win money when they have the best hand, or convince others that they do. There are many different types of poker, but Texas hold’em is the most popular form.
Players start by ‘buying in’ with a set number of chips. Each chip represents a fixed amount, with white chips being worth the minimum ante or bet and red ones being worth five or more whites. Each player then has to decide whether to call, raise, or fold their hand.
One of the key rules of poker is to always consider your position in relation to other players – this is called positioning. If you are first to act, you’re in Early Position; if you’re last to act, you’re in Late Position. Early Position is often more risky, as you’ll have less information about how’strong’ your opponents are and may be forced to call a bet or get raised or re-raised. Late Position, on the other hand, is a much more advantageous position.
Top players also know how to ‘fast-play’ their strong hands, which is to bet often in order to build the pot and discourage other players from calling with weaker hands. They will often keep their top pairs, even if the flop or river isn’t great – as long as they have the ‘nuts’ (triple sevens) for example.
