Poker is a game of chance, but it also involves a great deal of skill and psychology. It is best to start playing for low stakes, as this minimizes financial risk and allows you to experiment with strategies without feeling under pressure to win or lose. Once you’ve mastered the basics, it is important to practice bankroll management and track your wins and losses.
The dealer shuffles the cards, and then deals them out one at a time to each player. The player on the button (the first person to the left of the dealer) acts first, and can either call or raise. These forced bets create a pot and encourage competition among players.
Saying “call” means you want to bet the same amount as the last person did, and place your chips or cash in the pot. If you believe your hand has value, you can also say “stay” to keep the same card in your hand and go to the next round.
It is important to know what hands beat what, such as a flush beating a straight or three of a kind beating two pair. This can be learned quickly by studying a chart or memorizing the rules. It is also important to look beyond your own cards and consider what other players have, and make your moves accordingly. This is called readability and is the foundation of good poker play. This is not to say that you cannot make mistakes, but it is more important to minimize them by learning from your experiences and focusing on improving your decision-making process.