Poker is a card game in which players place bets based on the relative strength of their hands. It’s played with a standard deck of 52 cards. The value of a hand is in inverse proportion to its mathematical frequency; the more unusual the combination of cards, the higher the hand rank. Players may bluff in order to win by convincing other players that they have the best hand when they do not, and can also win by making bets that others call (match).

In a live game you must do several shuffles before starting to make sure the cards are well mixed. It’s important to keep your cards face down or close to the chest (which is where the phrase “playing it close to the vest” comes from). If you can see another player’s card, they can easily identify your hand and know if you are likely to double up – for instance if you have two 3s most people will expect trip fives.

When it’s your turn to act you have more information than your opponents and can make simple, cheap and effective bluffing bets. Position is a major part of poker strategy and advanced players will try to predict their opponent’s range when playing pre-flop. This will help them to play a much more efficient range of hands. There are many factors to consider when predicting an opponent’s range but the most important ones are bet size (the larger the raise, the tighter you should play and vice versa) stack sizes (when short stacked, play fewer speculative hands and prioritize high cards) and the opponent’s style of play.