Poker is a card game where the ultimate aim is to make a winning hand and force your opponents to fold. There are a number of strategies that can be employed to achieve this. One of the best ways is to use your betting position and strength of hand to influence how other players act on their cards. This can include raising and folding, or putting pressure on the opponent by calling their raises.
In the early stages of a betting round, the player to the left of the dealer makes an opening bet. Each player must either call the bet by putting in the same amount of chips or raise it (increase the total stake in the pot). A player may also choose to check, meaning they don’t put any chips into the pot and will not participate further.
Once a player has acted, the dealer deals three community cards face down to the table. This is called the flop and the players can now combine their individual cards with the shared community cards to create a new poker hand. The poker hands that can be made are:
When holding a strong poker hand, you should always consider how the other cards on the board might impact your chance of winning. For example, if you have pocket kings on the flop and there is an ace on the board this could spell trouble for your hand. Likewise, if the flop has lots of straight cards or flush cards you should be cautious regardless of your pocket hand.