Poker is a game of incomplete information, where every action you take gives your opponents bits of information that they use to build stories about you. Your actions can reveal how strong your hand is or whether you are trying to bluff. This is a key reason why poker is such a psychological game.

There are many things to learn before you can play poker well, but the first step is learning the rules. To begin, you must place a small amount of money into the pot before you are dealt two cards. This is called the ante. You can then call, fold or raise the bets placed by your opponents. The winner of the pot is the player with the highest-ranking hand at the end of the betting round.

When you’re starting out, try to avoid calling with weak hands and staying in too many hands. Watch the players around you to see how they play and use their weaknesses against them.

You should also study some charts and memorize what beats what, such as a straight beating three of a kind or two pair beating a flush. Over time, this will become ingrained in your brain and you’ll start to have a natural sense of frequencies and EV estimations.

Finally, you need to prepare for variance and work on your mental game so that when you have a bad run, it doesn’t crush your confidence or make you never want to play again. One way to do this is by reading books or hiring a coach to review your hands and point out any leaks in your strategy.