Poker is a card game in which players place chips (representing money) into a central pot before betting on the strength of their cards. The player with the highest ranked hand when all bets are made wins the pot. Players can also win by bluffing, but the best players have a strong grasp of probabilities and risk-reward situations.
When the dealer shuffles the cards and deals them out, each player is required to make a forced bet, usually the ante or blind. The player to the right of the dealer cuts the cards and then the first of several betting intervals begins.
After the initial betting round has finished the dealer places three community cards on the table that everyone can use (the flop). Then another betting round takes place and if you are still in the hand at this point, it is worth playing any two of your own cards to make a poker hand of 5 with the flop.
During the hand the players can draw replacement cards for the ones in their hands, depending on rules and the type of poker being played. However, in most cases this is not done during the betting rounds but rather after they have completed. A range is the scale of poker hands a player could have and it is a fundamental skill for an advanced player to work out their opponent’s range, not just try to put them on one specific hand.
