In poker, players bet into a pot during each betting round. The player with the best five card hand wins the pot. The game starts with each player putting in their ante and blind bets (the amount varies by game) and then the dealer shuffles and deals the cards. Each player then looks at their two personal cards and the community cards that will create their best five-card hand.

A player can choose to call a bet by putting in the same number of chips into the pot as the player before them or raise their bet by raising the amount they put in by a set percentage. The player can also drop out of a pot by putting in no more chips than the player before them. By doing this they forfeit their rights to any side pots that may be established for the game.

It is good to know that it is okay to bow out of a hand, especially early in the game. This allows you to save your money for another hand and it gives you a chance to observe other players to learn their tendencies. Observing other players and predicting their actions will help you develop quick instincts.

Many pro-poker books will tell you to only play the absolute best hands, such as high pairs (aces-kings of the same suit or jack-queen of the same suit) or high suited cards (king-jack of the same suit). However, this can be boring and unrealistic for new players who are still learning relative hand strength.