Poker is a card game where players compete to win a pot (the total of all bets made in one hand). The rules vary between different games and types of poker, but most poker games are played with 6, 7, or 8 players.

The objective of the game is to make a winning hand by either obtaining a high-ranking poker hand or betting out of turn against other players. Each player must place a minimum amount of money into the pot before he can act in a hand, which is called placing a bet. The amount of money that each player places into the pot is known as his stack size.

A good starting point for any poker strategy is understanding the concept of ranges. While novices often try to put their opponent on a specific hand, more experienced players work out the range of hands that their opponents could hold. This allows them to calculate how likely it is that their own hand beats each of the others in that range.

To increase your chances of winning, it’s a good idea to play strong value hands as straightforwardly as possible. For example, rather than limping into pots when you’re out of position, you should usually raise to price all the worse hands out of the hand. This is particularly important when playing against hyper-aggressive opponents.