Poker is a card game played with chips. When a dollar amount is mentioned, it refers to the value of a chip in the pot. Players put chips into the pot before each hand is dealt. They can trade their chips for cash at the end of the game (called “cashing out”).

The dealer takes a pack of cards and deals them in rotation, face up, to each player in the circle. Once the cards are all dealt, the player to the left of the dealer starts betting. When it’s your turn to bet, you can either raise the amount of the previous bet, or call it (“call”). If you call, you must place the same number of chips in the pot as the last player.

When the flop comes up, you have 7 cards to use in your hand. You have your two personal cards, plus five community cards. If your cards are not good, you may need to bluff in order to win the hand.

A Flush contains all five cards in the same suit, in consecutive order of value. A Straight contains 5 cards of consecutive rank, but they can be from different suits. Three of a kind is made up of 3 cards of the same rank and 2 unrelated cards. Two pair is made up of two cards of the same rank and two other unrelated cards.

If you have a strong hand, bet on it. This forces weak hands out of the pot and raises the value of your winnings. If your hand is not good, fold it. Don’t keep holding your cards where other players can see them, because this looks suspicious.