Poker is a game of incomplete information where each action you make, from the way you fold, call, check, raise or otherwise act gives your opponents bits of information that they piece together to form a story about you. This is particularly true because you can’t see your opponent’s cards. Each move you make — and the timing of those moves — communicates something about whether you have the best hand or the worst hand, which will help your opponents decide how much to call or raise on their turn.
The first thing you need to know about poker is that a good poker player must learn how to read the board. This involves looking at the community cards (dealt to everyone) and identifying the best possible 5-card poker hand that you can make from them. For example, a full house contains three matching cards of one rank and two matching cards of another, while a flush consists of five consecutive cards of the same suit.
The next important thing to understand about poker is that your opponents are evaluating your actions and betting patterns. They’re building a story about you based on your past behavior and the way you play the game. That’s why it’s essential that you mix things up and play a balanced style, so your opponents don’t know what you have in your pocket. If they always know what you have, your bluffs won’t work and your big hands won’t pay off.