Poker is a card game played by two or more players. The object of the game is to win a pot, which is the sum of all bets made by the players in one round. The pot is won either by having the highest-ranking poker hand or by making a bet that no other player calls. There are many variations of the game, but the basic principles are the same.

A full house contains three cards of the same rank and two matching unmatched cards. A flush contains five cards of consecutive rank but from different suits. A straight contains five cards that skip around in rank but remain consecutive. A one-eyes poker hand contains two matching unmatched cards of the same rank, while a pairs hand contains two cards of equal rank plus two other unmatched cards.

The most important aspect of good poker is to be aggressive when you have a strong hand. This will allow you to make larger bets, which will in turn lead to bigger pots. However, it is vital that you balance this aggression with intelligent bluffs. If you bluff too often, your opponents will know what you have and it will be very difficult for you to win.

Playing poker well is a game of learning about your opponents and exploiting them. It is important to classify your opponents into one of four basic player types; LAG’s, TAG’s, LP Fish and super tight Nits.