Poker is a game of chance, but it also requires skill, psychology and game theory. In fact, it is often just a few simple little adjustments that can help you go from being a break-even beginner player to becoming a big time winner. It all starts with a mental shift that allows you to view the game in a cold, calculated and mathematical way rather than being emotional or superstitious.
The first step is to understand the basic rules of poker. This is done by reading a book on the subject or playing with a group of players who know how to play. It is also helpful to start a group chat or meet weekly with players who are winning at the stakes you are playing in, so you can talk about hands and learn from their decisions.
Once you have an understanding of the basic rules, you should start observing other players and paying attention to their betting patterns. If a player seems to be always calling with weak pairs, they are likely a bad player who should be avoided. However, if a player is showing down strong hands and making aggressive bets, they are probably a solid player who you should try to get involved in pots with.
When betting comes around to you, the best strategy is to raise a strong hand and price all of the worse hands out of the pot. This is usually better than calling, especially if your hand has good odds of winning.
The highest value hands in poker are straight flushes, full houses and two pair. A straight is five cards in a row, either in sequence or in rank, but not all of them must be of the same suit (for example, A-K-Q-J-T). A flush is 5 cards of the same suits, and a full house is 3 matching cards of one rank plus 2 matching cards of another rank.
One of the most important things to remember is that even the best players in the world have losing sessions. If you can learn to minimize your losses and keep improving, the results will take care of themselves over time.