Poker is a card game in which players place an initial amount of money into the pot prior to being dealt cards. These are known as forced bets and come in the form of antes, blinds and bring-ins. Depending on the game rules, these bets are either mandatory to stay in the hand or optional to fold it.

The objective of the game is to win the most chips in a round by having the strongest possible poker hand. In order to achieve this goal, it is important to understand poker hand strength, betting strategy and other aspects of the game.

Strong poker hands generally involve high-value cards, such as a full house, flush or straight. A full house contains 3 matching cards of one rank and 2 matching cards of another, a flush is 5 consecutive cards of the same suit, and a straight is five cards in a sequence but from different suits.

Bluffing is a key aspect of the game, but it is also important to balance your play and avoid being too predictable. If your opponents always know what you are up to, then they will make poor decisions and your bluffs will rarely succeed.

It is also important to be aware of your opponent’s betting patterns. Conservative players typically fold early, and can be easily bluffed into folding, while aggressive players often raise with weaker hands. This information can help you to read your opponents and make better decisions.