Poker is a card game played between two or more players. Each player puts an initial amount of money into the pot, called the ante, before cards are dealt. Then, during one or more betting intervals, players can bet on the cards in their hand. The goal is to minimize losses with poor hands and maximize winnings with good ones. This is achieved through a combination of opportunities, strategy, and execution – three meta-skills that are common to all profitable games.

During the opening stages of the game, players feel each other out and make small bets to test the strength of their hands. After the flop, more information becomes available and bets rise as each player makes their decision. Eventually, the river will reveal the final card and players show their hands. The player with the strongest hand wins the pot.

The economics of a hand are best evaluated by calculating its “equity.” This is the percentage of chips a player would hold if all players played their best hand every time, and betting was fixed. This is important because it shows the odds of making a particular hand over a large number of hands.

Professional poker players are adept at evaluating the probabilities of a hand and its underlying equity. They are also skilled at extracting signal from noise and integrating information about their opponents. This includes observing facial expressions and body language, building behavioral dossiers on their opponents, and even buying records of previous hands.