As a poker player, you’ll find that it takes some time to learn the game. While there is a lot of luck at poker, over time the application of skill can help to eliminate the variance associated with chance.
Whenever the dealer deals a hand, players begin betting in one of several betting intervals, depending on the variant being played. The amount of money bet in a particular round is called the “current bet amount” and it is often placed on the table or passed to the dealer face down (called “splashing the pot”). During each betting interval a player may raise, call or fold their hand.
After the first betting round is complete the dealer deals three cards face-up on the table, which are community cards that everyone can use (this is called the flop). Once again the active players will bet in turn. The person with the strongest five card poker hand wins the pot, which contains all bets made in previous rounds plus any additional bets made at this point in the hand.
It’s important to understand relative hand strength, which is the ability of a player to beat other players when they hold a worse hand than their own. Bluffing is an integral part of poker but it’s not something you want to try out until you are comfortable with the relative strength of your own hand. Bluffing can be very tricky to master and is best left for more experienced players.