Poker is a card game that has become incredibly popular around the world. It is a game that requires skill and luck, but it also involves good table behavior and discipline. If you want to be a winning poker player, you must learn how to play smart and stick to your strategy even when it’s boring or frustrating.

To play a hand, you must say “call” or “raise” to add chips to the pot. Then, the player to your left must either call or raise the amount you have put into it. If you cannot match the last raise, you must fold your hand and lose the chips you have staked.

During the betting phase, you can also check to stay in the hand a little longer. This will force your opponents to decide whether they want to try and make a showdown with your weaker hands or chase their draws. In this way, you can control the pot size by controlling the amount of money that is in it.

Bluffs are far less common than people think. They should only happen occasionally and when you are in good position and you have a strong hand. You should also only bluff on small pots because bluffing is expensive, and you don’t want to get into large pots where your opponent could crush you. The more experience you have playing, the better you will be at reading your opponents. This will help you know when to bluff and when to just call.