The game of poker, played both in live casinos and online, is a social game of chance. Players commit resources before they know all the facts, and they must balance winning and losing. A good player learns to extract the most value from their winning hands and minimise their losses from losing ones – this is known as min-max.

Players have a choice to check (not put any money into the pot), call (match another player’s bet), or raise a bet by raising the amount that they put into the pot. They also have the option to fold (leave the round). After each player has their hole cards, there is a betting phase called the flop, turn, and river. This betting is made up of mandatory bets called blinds placed by two players to the left of the dealer, as well as any voluntary bets made by the players.

Poker is a game of deception, and it’s important to mix up your tells so that opponents can’t easily spot whether you’re bluffing or holding the nuts. Keeping your opponent guessing will ensure that your bluffs get through and that you can extract maximum value from your winning hands.

Expert poker players are able to read a variety of cues from their opponents, including eye contact and body language. They can then use these insights to both exploit their opponents and protect themselves against them. This ability is especially crucial when playing online, where players may lack in-person knowledge of their opponents and may instead rely on software to build behavioral dossiers on them and even buy records of their previous games.