Poker is a card game that combines elements of chance, strategy and luck. Players are dealt cards, and their best hand wins the pot. There are many different forms of poker, but the basic rules remain the same.

In most forms, the dealer shuffles, cuts and deals the cards to the players one at a time, beginning with the player on the left of the dealer button. After the initial deal, a betting round takes place. After each round, all bets are accumulated into the central pot.

When the first betting round is complete, the dealer deals three cards face-up on the board, called the flop. Then everyone gets a chance to bet, raise or fold. The dealer then deals another card on the board, which is called the turn. Once the fourth card is dealt, a final betting round begins. If more than one player is still in the hand after the final betting round, the dealer exposes all the cards and the player with the highest ranked hand wins the pot.

Some variants of poker require forced bets, either an ante or a blind bet (sometimes both). These bets are made by the players to their immediate left and must be made without seeing any cards.

The antes may be small or large, depending on the game’s rules. If the antes are small, they must be paid off with an amount smaller than the total of the chips in the pot. The big antes are paid off with a larger sum of money, usually the number of chips that the player in front of him had placed in the pot before the antes were dealt.

A draw is a hand that is not an exact match of any other hand. It is often used to beat a straight or flush, but it can also be used to win a hand that otherwise would have been a winning combination.

It is important to know that in poker, there are some hands you should never bet against. These include kings, queens and aces, all of which are extremely strong and can easily beat you by themselves.

These hands also have the tendency to get a lot of calls before you even make your move on the flop. That is why you should always play your cards smartly and try to avoid raising them unless they are extremely weak, especially against passive opponents.

The key to playing poker against passive players is to remember that they are not the same as maniacs and are much more likely to fold their weakest hands. If they are folding a lot, it is probably because they are playing a hand that is not good enough to call their bets or are playing something else completely.

This is where a range comes in handy! Once you understand what your opponent’s range is, you can start to work out whether or not you should bet. This way you can make an educated decision based on the amount of information available to you.