Poker is a card game that involves skill and luck. In its most simple form, players place bets using their chips to win the “pot,” the sum total of all the bets placed during a hand. The winner is determined by a showdown when each player reveals their cards. The highest-ranking poker hand wins the pot.

Besides learning the rules of the game, it is important to practice your psychological and strategic skills. This is the only way to get a feel for what it takes to be a successful poker player. A good poker player is comfortable taking risks and adjusting to the environment around them.

It is also important to learn how to read other players. This includes paying attention to their body language, studying their betting patterns, and picking up on their tells. Typical tells include fiddling with their chips, looking at the table, or even making faces. These signals can help you determine the strength of their hands.

Finally, a successful poker player knows that his or her hand is only as strong as the opponent’s. For example, if you have K-K while the other player holds A-A, your hand is probably going to lose 82% of the time. Therefore, you must play the opponent and their hand, not your own. Another important skill is the ability to exercise pot control. This means that you only raise when you have a strong value hand. If you raise with a weak or drawing hand, you will only inflate the pot size.