Poker is a card game played by two or more players. It is a gambling game and the player with the highest hand wins the pot. Players must ante (amount varies by game) to be dealt cards. Once they have their cards they may then bet into the middle of the table, called the pot. A player can call a bet, raise it or fold his hand. If a player folds he gives up all the money he has bet that round.
A hand consists of 5 cards. The highest ranking card is the Ace, followed by the King, Queen, Jack and the rest of the cards are in decreasing order of rank. Some games have wild cards that can take the place of any card to make a winning hand.
Many players spend time looking for unconscious poker tells but these are often less reliable than they seem. Putting players into broad categories, tight-aggressive or loose-passive is usually more helpful than focusing on individual physical tells. Some physical tells to look out for are a full, relaxed smile, trembling of the hands or fingers or a throbbing vein in the head or neck. Also glancing intensely at other players and protectively guarding hole cards can indicate the presence of a good hand. Other tells include a sudden change in body language, a sudden shuffle of chips or an increase in the pace of betting.