Poker is one of the most popular card games around. It’s also one of the most profitable games to play in terms of how much you can win per hour.
In poker you must ante up a small amount of money (the amount varies from game to game, but in our games it’s usually a nickel) before you get dealt cards. Then there’s a round of betting with the highest hand winning the pot. A player can call, raise or fold based on what they think they have.
After the first betting round, a 3rd card is dealt face up called the flop. There is another round of betting, and once that’s over a 4th community card is dealt face up called the river. Then there’s a final betting round.
The strongest hands in poker are a full house (2 matching cards of the same rank and 2 matching cards of another rank) or a straight (5 consecutive cards of the same suit). High card breaks ties.
A bad beat is when you have a strong hand and it’s beaten by a worse one, such as a flush or straight when an ace appears on the board. This is a very frustrating hand for many players, especially beginners.
A common mistake that new players make is to try and pick their opponent’s hand and play against it. This is a very bad strategy and won’t work anywhere near as well as thinking about ranges.