Poker is a game where players form the highest ranked hand of cards in order to win the pot at the end of each betting round. The pot is the total amount of money that has been put into the betting pool during the current hand. The highest ranked hand wins the pot, which can include any type of poker hand including a straight or a flush.
Each player places an amount of chips into the betting pool when it is their turn to act. They can “call” that bet by putting the same amount of chips into the pot as the player before them, they can raise their bet to put more chips into the pot, or they can fold and forfeit their hand and their chips. If they fold, the next player to act will be able to call or raise the new bet.
One of the key skills in poker is understanding how much to bet when you have a strong hand. This is known as bet sizing and it requires a good understanding of the pot odds, stack depth and other factors. The best players will continually refine their strategy through detailed self-examination and discussion with other experienced players.
When you are in a strong position in a hand, it is often better to play the hand aggressively by raising instead of calling. This will build the pot and encourage other players to fold their hands, which can lead to you winning more money than if you had called every time.