Poker is a game of chance, but once you introduce betting it becomes a lot more than just luck. There is a significant amount of skill involved in the game, as well as a great deal of psychology. The divide between break-even beginner players and big-time winners is much smaller than many people think, it just requires some simple adjustments in thinking. You need to start looking at the game in a more cold, detached, mathematical, and logical way than you do currently.
Before a hand is dealt, the players put in an ante. This is similar to the blind and is required of all players before they can act during a hand. Antes give the pot a higher value right off the bat and force weak hands out of the pot.
Once everyone has their cards, they bet and the player with the best hand wins. A hand can be made up of two pair, three of a kind, four of a kind or a straight. A straight consists of five consecutive cards, but they can be from more than one suit. Four of a kind consists of four cards of the same rank. If there is a tie between two four of a kinds, the highest card breaks the tie.
A high card also breaks ties when the hand is a pair, or three of a kind. There are also rules governing how you should raise and call bets. A player may “call” when they want to make a bet that is the same as the previous person’s.