Poker is a card game that involves betting and has a lot of skill and psychology involved. It’s a great game to play with friends, but it is important to understand the rules and how to play the game correctly. This article will give you a quick overview of the rules and some tips on how to win at poker.

Before the cards are dealt, each player must put in an amount of money into the pot called the ante. This is to create a pot and encourage competition among players. Once everyone has placed their antes, they will be given their cards and begin betting. The highest hand wins the pot.

To improve your chances of winning, always play premium hands such as pocket pairs, high-card combinations, and suited connectors. These hands have a higher probability of success and are easier to play with limited experience. It’s also helpful to observe and study experienced players so you can learn their strategies, adapt them to specific situations, and develop your own style of play.

It’s important to know which hands to play and which to fold. For example, if you have a pair of kings and the flop comes A-8-5, you’ll have a weak hand that can be beaten by almost any other hand. Therefore, you should fold this hand if it doesn’t have a high kicker (such as a straight or three of a kind). High kickers break ties between two identical hands.