Poker is a card game where players must make decisions with varying degrees of certainty. It is a game of chance and deception and involves skill, planning, and psychology. It is also a game of numbers and statistics.

The first step to playing poker is understanding the rules. This includes understanding how a hand is scored and the order of poker hands, such as a full house beats three of a kind, and a straight beats two pair.

Once you know the basic rules, it is important to study a few poker strategy books. Specifically, you should read The One Percent Course and Matt Janda’s Poker Math from a 10,000-foot view. These books explore balance, frequencies, and ranges in a way that is extremely helpful to poker players.

You should also learn to be a good bluffer in poker. It is a vital part of the game and many people do not understand how to bluff correctly. The trick is to bluff only when you have an edge. This means that you should only bluff when you think your opponent is holding a weak hand or is overthinking their situation.

Finally, you should always have a reason for making your decision, whether it is to call, check, or raise. Oftentimes, new players make decisions with no reasoning behind them, which can lead to mistakes. If you do not have a good reason to make your decision, it is usually best to pass and let someone else win.