Poker is a card game played between two or more players on a table. Each player has a set of five cards — their personal hand and the four community cards on the table — which they use to make a poker hand. The game has a fast pace, and bets are made continuously until one player has all the chips or everyone folds.

A good poker player knows how to read the other players at the table, including their body language and facial expressions. This helps them understand what type of hands their opponents are holding and determine the strength of their bluffs. It also allows them to narrow their range of starting hands and choose how much to raise or call based on the player’s position at the table (cut-off vs. under the gun, for example).

The divide between break-even beginner players and big winners is not as large as many people think. The difference is often a few small adjustments that beginners can make in their approach to the game to help them become profitable. These changes involve viewing the game in a more cold, detached and mathematical manner than they currently do.

The key to winning poker is learning to value bet correctly, especially versus fish who like to call too much. This means bluffing with the right frequency, folding with weak hands, and making aggressive bets when you have strong ones. You should also be able to recognize when you are playing against a player who is putting you in a bad situation and not adjusting their actions.