Poker is a card game that involves betting. It is a skill-based game, with some luck mixed in, but it requires a great deal of mental discipline and perseverance to improve. You also need to learn to make smart game selections — a fun game isn’t necessarily the most profitable one.

Players take turns to act in a hand. They can fold, call, or raise the previous player’s bet. Each action is recorded on the table. This gives opponents more information than they have when acting first, and can make it harder to bluff. It also allows more experienced players to make better value bets.

When you play poker, it’s important to mix up your bet sizes, as doing so will keep your opponents guessing about what you have in your hand. Too many players don’t do this, and their opponents quickly know what they have in their hand (whether it’s the nuts or a bluff). This leads to fewer big pot wins for them.

Poker is a complex game with many different strategies that you can use to win. But don’t try to implement too many changes at once, as this can be overwhelming and result in you making mistakes. Instead, focus on mastering one aspect of the game at a time, like preflop ranges, and you’ll find that your skills improve much faster than you think. If you are serious about becoming a better poker player, then read some books on the subject and start playing with people who know how to play.