Poker is a card game where players compete to form the highest ranked hand using their own two cards and the five community cards dealt. At the end of each betting interval, whoever has the highest ranked hand wins the “pot” (all of the chips bet so far).
Before any cards are dealt, there is a round of betting that starts with the player to the left of the dealer button. These mandatory bets are called blinds and they help to create an incentive for players to play.
During this phase of the game, you should be looking to push players with weak hands out if possible. This can be done by raising the ante or the preflop bet. It is also important to keep a record of your opponents’ tendencies, which can be very useful in making decisions later on in the hand.
Once the flop is dealt, there will be another round of betting. This is where you will have to decide if you want to continue betting and trying to force people with weaker hands out of the hand, or call and hope for better.
You can also use this time to try to control the pot size, which is often helpful for making a strong value hand. You should also make sure to have a loss limit in place, whether it is a tournament buy-in or cash game stack, that will prevent you from getting into a negative session that can spiral out of control.