Poker is a game of chance and risk, but it also requires a lot of skill to play well. There are dozens of variations of the game, but they all involve betting chips before getting dealt cards. Players can check, which means they pass on betting, or raise, which means they put more chips in the pot than the player before them. They can also fold, which means they give up their hand and forfeit any money they have already contributed to the pot.
A player can win a hand by having the highest ranking combination of cards. A straight contains five cards of consecutive rank, while a flush is any five cards of the same suit. A full house is three matching cards of one rank and two matching cards of another rank. A pair is two cards of one rank, plus one card of another rank.
Advanced players learn to predict their opponent’s range, which is the set of hands they can call with. This helps them make the best decisions in a given situation and maximize their value. This doesn’t mean they can never bluff, but rather that they should try to mix up their range and keep their opponents guessing about what they are holding. This will also help prevent their opponents from reading them and calling their bluffs.