Poker is a game of chance but it is also a game that can be dominated by skill. While much of the outcome of a hand is random, the decisions made by players are generally based on probability, psychology, and game theory.

At the beginning of each betting interval, one player, as designated by the rules of the variant being played, has the privilege or obligation to make the first bet. Then each player in turn must place chips (representing money) into the pot if he wants to continue to play his hand.

After the initial forced bets, the dealer shuffles the cards and then deals each player a number of cards. These cards may be dealt either face-up or face-down depending on the variant being played. Each player then places bets into the pot, as determined by his personal strategy and the game conditions.

It is important to learn the fundamentals of the game before moving on to more advanced strategies. A big part of the game is reading your opponents and understanding how to make them fold or raise a bet. While most of the time this can be done with subtle physical poker tells, it is also possible to read a player based on his bet patterns. For example, if a player bets every hand then you can probably assume that they are playing some pretty strong hands.

When playing against sticky players, or calling stations, you want to tighten up your pre-flop range and only open with strong hands. This is because these players are likely to call bets with weaker hands, making bluffing very difficult.