Poker is a card game played against other players in rounds with the aim of winning a pot of money. The rules of poker vary slightly between different forms of the game but the basics are universal. Each player must ante some amount of money (this varies by game but is usually a nickel or less) to get dealt cards and then bet over a series of rounds until one player has the highest hand.
When it is your turn, you can either ‘check’ (don’t put any money into the pot), ‘call’ (match another player’s bet) or ‘raise’ (bet a higher amount than the previous player). You can also fold, which ends the round.
If you have a strong hand, you can try to bluff and make other players believe that you have a stronger than average hand. This can be risky and you should only do so when you have sufficient funds to play responsibly.
You can learn a lot about the strength of your opponents by studying their gameplay. Pay attention to how they act and what they are betting into, for example if a player folds most of the time you can assume that they have crappy cards. Also watch how they play, even experienced players can make mistakes and bad moves.
There are many different strategies for playing poker and you should study the games of the best players in your region and online. This will expose you to different styles of play and give you a wider understanding of the principles that lead to profitable decisions.