Poker is a card game where players place chips into the pot (the pool of money in the center of the table) when it’s their turn to act. Unlike other casino games where you must place an initial forced bet to participate in the hand, poker bets are only made when the player believes that the bet has positive expected value or they’re trying to bluff other players for various strategic reasons.
When betting starts, each player must first ante something – the amount varies by game but it’s usually no more than a nickel. From there, players can bet on each other’s hands or fold if they have nothing. If a player has a good poker hand they will win the pot.
After the antes are in, the dealer deals three cards face-up on the board – these are community cards that everyone can use if they want. Let’s say you got dealt a pair of kings off the deal, which isn’t great but not horrible either. You can call the bet from the guy to your left who raised, or you can raise the bet as well if you think your hands is stronger than his.
It’s important to pay attention to your opponents and try to read them. This can be done with subtle physical tells like scratching your nose or nervous playing with your chips, but it’s also possible to just look at patterns – for example if someone only plays strong hands then they’re probably not folding very often.