Poker is a card game where players place bets on their hand in order to win the pot. A considerable amount of skill is involved in this game, but that doesn’t mean luck doesn’t have a role to play as well.

To start playing poker, you should familiarize yourself with the rules and basic terms of the game. You will also want to understand the different types of poker games, including Texas Hold’Em, which is the type of poker featured in many television shows and on the WSOP.

Each player starts with two cards, known as their hole cards. These are dealt face down. Five community cards are then dealt to the table in three stages: a series of three, called the flop, an additional single card, known as the turn, and finally the last community card, the river. The player with the highest-ranking poker hand wins the pot.

When it’s your turn to act, you can choose from the following options:

Call – To bet the same as the person who went before you. To call, you must match their bet and then place the same amount of money into the pot as them.

Read Your Opponents – You can greatly improve your chances of winning by reading the nonverbal cues of your opponents. This is known as body language reading, and it is a vital skill for any top-level poker player. You should also consider their history in similar situations, and make your moves based on what you know about them.