Poker is a card game in which players place bets on the strength of their hand. It’s an extremely popular game and its play and jargon permeate the United States culture. While it involves chance, winning at poker largely depends on strategic decisions that are based on game theory and probability.

The first step in playing a strong poker game is knowing how to read the other players at the table. The best way to do this is by watching their actions. The more you observe, the better you’ll be able to read their decisions and predict how they’ll act in different situations.

Another important factor in reading opponents is understanding position. Essentially, the later your position at the table, the less risk you have to take. This is because you can see what other players are doing before you have to act and adjust your range accordingly.

Lastly, you’ll want to make sure that you are always playing your strongest value hands. This means betting and raising frequently with these types of hands to force weaker hands out of the pot and maximize the value of your winnings. If you’re in late position, it can also be advantageous to call instead of raise when bluffing because doing so will allow you to control the pot size and prevent your opponents from raising too much when they have a strong calling hand. Alternatively, you can go “all in” with a strong value hand to scare opponents and increase the size of your potential winnings.