Poker is a card game played by two or more players and involves betting in order to win. The game has a number of variants, but most involve the dealer dealing cards and allowing players to place bets based on their perceived strengths of their hands. Players can also bluff, in which case they place bets that they believe other players will call. While the outcome of any particular hand depends on chance, the long-run expectations of players are determined by actions chosen on the basis of probability, psychology and game theory.
A player may choose to raise, check or fold his or her hand. Raising means increasing the amount of money you are willing to put into the pot. Checking means not raising and passing the turn to the next player.
After each player has decided whether to raise, call or fold, the dealer deals three cards face up on the table that all players can use (this is called the flop). The players that raised continue the betting round and the highest hand wins the pot.
A good poker player is able to read other players. There are many books and articles on this topic and it is a very important skill in poker. Reading people essentially involves learning to read tells, which are small details that indicate the type of hand a player is holding. Examples of these tells include eye movements, idiosyncrasies in chip handling, and bet patterns.