Poker is a card game that may be played with two to fourteen players. There are many different poker games, but they all involve betting and bluffing. The object is to win a pot, which is the sum of all bets made during one round. The pot is won by a player with the best poker hand, determined by the rules of the game being played.
A poker hand consists of five cards. The higher the rank of the hand, the more valuable it is. Each poker variant has its own rules and terminology, but the game generally works the same way. Players place forced bets, called blind or ante bets, before being dealt cards. These are usually kept hidden from the opponents. Once the bets are placed, the players reveal their cards and evaluate their hands. If the player has the best hand according to the poker variant being played, he wins the pot.
The cards are arranged into poker hands, which are evaluated and placed in a showdown at the end of a betting round. The highest poker hand wins the pot, but a player may also choose to bluff with weaker hands in order to win the pot. Using a simplified version of the game, von Neumann showed that a player would break even in the long run if he bet large with his best hand and small with his bluffs at mathematically precise frequencies.
Practice and watch the experienced players to develop your own instincts. Reading poker books can give you a good start, but it is important to practice your strategy on the felt and to learn by watching the behavior of the other players at the table.