Poker is a card game played between two or more players. Each player puts an amount of money into the pot (the amount varies by game), after which they are dealt 2 cards. A betting round begins, and then three more cards are dealt that are all community cards (everyone can use). The best 5 card hand wins the pot.
Poker games involve incomplete information, with each action and gesture giving away bits of information that opponents piece together to form a story about your intentions. While there are many tells, the ability to read other players is crucial to success at poker. The most important thing to remember is that every action is a signal, and you must always think about what your opponent’s signals are telling you.
A winning poker strategy involves playing fewer hands. This gives you more favorable odds against other players and prevents you from bleeding yourself out by calling big bets with weak hands. Ideally, you should only play strong value hands that are ahead of your opponent’s calling range. In order to be successful in this, you must learn to spot when your opponent is bluffing and make them overthink their decisions. To develop this skill, watch videos of Phil Ivey and pay attention to his reaction to bad beats. This will help you to be mentally tough when you face these situations.