Poker is a card game in which players place bets to form a hand that beats the other players hands and wins the pot. A player can win the pot even with a weak hand by bluffing.
The first step in poker is understanding the rules. Then you need to work on your poker strategy and read some books on the subject. Poker has evolved a lot over the past few decades so make sure you find books on the latest strategies.
One thing you should try to do is to look for tells at the table. While this may not always be possible in online poker, try to analyze how your opponents play over time. This will help you develop your own unique poker style.
Another important aspect of poker is understanding the ranges. While new players will try to put their opponent on a specific hand, more experienced players will try to figure out the full selection of hands their opponent could have. This way they can figure out how likely it is that their own hand will beat the other player’s.
When analyzing your opponent, pay attention to the size of their bets (the higher the bet sizing, the tighter you should play and vice versa) and stack sizes (when short stacked, you should prioritize high card strength over speculative hands). You also need to understand how the flop and turn affect your hand. You should try to make your hand as high as possible so that it can beat a wide variety of hands.