Poker is a card game where the highest hand wins. To play the game you need a high card combination plus bluffing skills to force weaker hands out of the pot. It is also important to know the rules of the game and how to read your opponents. Observe other players for tells like eye movements, idiosyncrasies, betting behavior etc.
In the first betting round you are dealt two cards. If you have a strong hand, bet enough that your opponent will fold before you see theirs. This will raise the value of your pot and give you a good chance of winning.
After the betting round is complete the dealer deals three cards face up on the table that anyone can use. This is called the flop. Then everyone decides whether to call, raise or fold their hand.
A straight is five cards in sequence that don’t have to be from the same suit. Three of a kind is two cards of the same rank and two unmatched cards. Two pair is two distinct pairs of cards plus a fifth card that can be either the high or low. High card breaks ties.
Knowing the rankings of poker hands is important to improve your chances of winning. You must memorize the ranking of poker hands (a flush beats a straight, three of a kind beats two pair, and so on). In addition to this you need to understand how to calculate ranges.