Poker is a card game where players wager money and make decisions to achieve goals without knowing the outcome in advance. The game is a metaphor for life — sometimes you lose, and sometimes you win. But unlike real life, you can’t get killed in a poker tournament, and winning or losing doesn’t put you in jail. This separation between the known and the unknown, the controllable and the uncontrollable, is what makes poker a fascinating game.
The game is fast-paced and the players bet continuously until one player has all the chips or everyone folds. The players take turns betting in clockwise order, and the button (i.e. the dealer’s position) passes to the player on the left after each hand.
A player’s position at the table has a significant impact on their starting hand range and strategy. Those in early positions risk more money as they act first, but are also at a disadvantage because they can’t see what their opponents are doing. Players in late position, on the other hand, are able to gather information about their opponents’ actions as they decide whether to call, raise, or fold.
A good poker player is a master of reads and tells. These are unconscious habits a player displays that reveal their hand, including facial expressions, body language, and posture. While the game can be played without reading tells, it’s important to be aware of them so you can spot when someone is trying to steal your money.