Poker is a card game in which players form hands based on their rankings, and then place bets into the pot (all of the bets placed during a given round). The player with the highest-ranked hand at the end of the betting phase wins the pot.

A key skill to learn in poker is decision-making under uncertainty. You don’t know what cards other players will have, or how they will play them. So you must try to make the best decision based on what is known. In order to do that, you must estimate the probability of different scenarios and outcomes. This is a useful skill in poker, and other areas of life too.

Many poker players have dedicated whole books to describing their approach, but you can also learn by self-examination of your own play. You should always review your hands to see what went wrong – and right – and use that information to improve. Some players even discuss their hands with others for a more objective look at their weaknesses.

One of the best things about poker is that it’s a situational game. Your hand is only good or bad in relation to what your opponent holds. For example, if you have K-K and your opponent has A-A, then your kings are losers 82% of the time. The key is to find speculative hands that have a large upside if they hit, and then play them aggressively.