Poker is a game of chance but it also involves a lot of psychology and skill. In this article we’ll take a quick look at the rules of poker and then we’ll move on to some advanced strategies.

To begin with everyone puts in an amount of money called the ante (it varies from game to game but our games are usually about a nickel) to get dealt cards. Once everyone has their cards they start betting and whoever has the best hand wins the pot at the end of the hand. This is an excellent strategy to follow when playing low stakes games and it’ll help you get better at the game.

After the first betting round is complete the dealer will put three cards face up on the table that anyone can use (these are called community cards). This is known as the flop. Then a second betting round takes place. After the second betting round is over the dealer will put a fourth card on the board that anyone can use (this is called the turn).

There are a number of different poker hands but the most common are a straight, full house, and two pair. A straight is 5 consecutive cards of the same rank, a full house is 3 matching cards of one rank and 2 matching cards of another rank, and two pair is 2 matching cards of one rank plus three unmatched cards.