Poker is one of the world’s most popular games, both in person and online. Its rich history goes back centuries, and it’s still a game that requires both skill and luck to win.
In most games of poker players put in a small amount of money (ours is a nickel) and then are dealt cards. When betting gets around to you (it happens in a clockwise fashion) you can either fold, call, or raise. The highest hand wins the pot.
There’s a lot of strategy involved in poker, and the divide between break-even beginner players and big-time winners isn’t as wide as some people think. It’s often just a few simple adjustments that will carry you from losing to winning at a faster rate.
One of the most important parts of poker strategy is understanding ranges. While new players try to figure out what hand an opponent is holding, more experienced players work out the range of hands that their opponent could have and how likely it is that their own hand beats that range.
Another vital part of poker strategy is position. Playing in late position gives you “bluff equity,” which means you can make cheap, effective bluffs while also getting more value out of your strong hands. Likewise, playing early position lets you control the price of the pot, inflating it when you have a strong value hand and keeping it smaller when you have a weaker one.